Crossed Swords and Crossed Lovers
by 7AugustBurnsRed7
Summary: Kagome is a senior at Rumiko High School. Thing is, though, that this is her first year at a new school since her family had to move because of work. Now she goes to school with some pretty interesting characters, including some very attractive guys... But what in the world is going with the track team? A story of drugs, illicit arms trafficking, assassins, and high school romance
1. Welcome to Rumiko High

**Hey guys, got the inspiration for this story while writing my other one, A New Act. Not sure how the two are related at all, but that's how it happened. I promise that this one begins better than my last one. Also everyone in this story is human. Demons and other supernatural stuff just kinda made the plot a little tricky, but I have tried my best to keep personalities mostly the same. The story takes place in modern day Tokyo, though the school is based off of the US school system since I have no experience with Japanese schools. Hope you guys like it! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I want your input!**

**Disclaimer for the entire story: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.**

**ENJOY!**

Prologue:

"Shit Miroku!" Inuyasha screamed at the man in question took a turn in the van they driving in at a speed that was far from safe. The wheels screamed loudly and Inuyasha was suddenly glad that the city streets were empty at this time of night. "What the fuck?! If you haven't noticed, we have something that we need to take care of in the back of this van! Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Shut up Inuyasha. I know exactly what I'm doing." Miroku insisted, "And I told you to wear a seatbelt." Inuyasha grumbled a complaint, but Miroku didn't hear it and kept driving like a maniac. Instead of pursuing the argument further, Inuyasha decided to finish screwing the silencer onto his pistol and look to the back of the windowless van to check on the "package" that they were supposed to deliver. Luckily for them, it hadn't taken any damage from Miroku's crazy driving.

It wasn't long before Miroku pulled up to the building that they were looking for. He chose the dark alley to the right of the building to leave the van it, just as they had planned. On the outside, it looked just like an abandoned warehouse, but Inuyasha and Miroku knew better than that. In reality, it housed the headquarters of one of the most evil men in the world, Naraku Jigoku. Their mission was to get in, plant the package, and get out without being detected. They were going to have to be quick. The job would have been easy if it weren't for the fact that Naraku had almost an unlimited amount of resources from his tight control over the city's drug trade, but unfortunately, in their line of work, no job was ever easy.

Inuyasha tucked his pistol into the waistband of the jeans he was wearing and hopped out of the van. Miroku did the same. It was almost pitch black outside, with the only light coming from a tiny sliver of the moon and the stars. Both of the men were glad that they had chosen to wear all black for this mission. They ran around to the back of the van and opened the double doors to reveal the thing they had to get into the warehouse. Two briefcase sized boxes that, when triggered, would release enough poison gas into the building to kill everyone inside before they had any idea what was going on. Miroku grabbed one while Inuyasha grabbed the other. They shut the doors, approached the side entrance that was in the alleyway, stacked up to the right of the door. Inuyasha took point.

"You ready?" He whispered. Miroku simply nodded. "Alright. On three. One... Two... Three." As the last word left his mouth, Inuyasha quietly turned the handle of the door. It was unlocked, just as they had hoped. He pushed the door open and entered into the building, gun first. Miroku followed and shut the door behind them without a sound. Both of them scanned the area in front of them. It was almost too dark to see, but they had been trained for these kinds of situations and had developed very good night vision. The inside of building was obviously not a warehouse. There were boxes and machines everywhere. It was clear that this was where the drugs and illegal weapons were made and processed before being shipped out onto the streets. Inuyasha knew from the intelligence they had that all business was conducted on the second floor.

Once they had established that the coast was clear, they separated to place the packages in the locations where they would best be able to release the gas. Inuyasha broke right while Miroku went left. It didn't take them long to find good places to stash the boxes. Miroku left his hidden below an industrial sized fan that was meant to keep the floor cool while people worked, while Inuyasha stored his in the opening to one of the air ducts. With that kind of positioning, it would only take minutes for the colorless, odorless gas to spread. Then, after inhaling the poison, each person would only have twenty minutes to live before going into cardiac arrest. It was indiscriminate and, according to Inuyasha, a bit cruel, but it was the only way to insure that they took out all of their targets that would be there the next morning. The two met back up immediately after placing the boxes and turned to head back out the way they came. They were almost to the door when they heard the unmistakable sound of someone cocking an assault rifle. Then came the cold, familiar female voice that chilled Inuyasha's blood.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up. Ha! What luck. He even brought his little friend along. Hey there, Inuyasha." Inuyasha let out a string of quiet curses as he turned to see the woman pointing a gun at his head. He desperately wished that it wasn't the person who owned the voice, but these hopes were shattered as his eyes came to rest on her face.

"Hey there... Kikyo..."

Chapter 1: Welcome to Rumiko High

A few months earlier

"BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!" The familiar and decidedly unwelcome sound of an alarm clock pierced Kagome's dream and forced her rudely awake. She reached out her hand, slammed it down on the snooze button, and promptly went back to sleep. It wasn't long, however, before she heard her mother's footsteps outside her door.

"Kagome dear, it's time to get up for school. You don't want to be late on the first day." She called through the door. Kagome's only response was to groan loudly at her mother. In her mind, the first day was the perfect day to sleep late. However, to appease her mother and avoid her wrath, she managed to drag herself out of bed and into the shower. The hot water felt great on her skin and did wonders for waking her up.

It wasn't long before she was out of the shower, dressed in her school uniform, and down stairs for breakfast. Her mom was just sitting out a plate of pancakes for her when she entered the dining room.

"Morning Kagome." Her mother said happily as she put the food on the table, "Trouble waking up sweetie?"

"Morning mom. And yeah, just a little bit." Kagome admitted, "Thanks for making breakfast." Her mother smiled warmly just like she always did.

"Oh no problem dear. It's the least I could do for my little girl before her first day of senior year, especially in a new school." She told her. Kagome nodded and smiled back before sitting down at the table to eat. It was true. The company that her mother worked for, Shikon Industries, had changed locations, forcing them to move and Kagome to change schools. Luckily for her, though, she wasn't the only one affected by the change. Her three best friends in the world, Sango, Rin, and Ayame, also had parents that worked for the company and were forced to move. Now the four of them would be the new girls together at Rumiko High School. Sango Taijiya was a feisty girl with long black hair. Rin Noto also had long black hair. She was an outgoing, energetic girl that was always fun to talk to. Ayame Kakazu was a crazy little redhead that was active all the time and was a great soccer player. It was going to be nice having those three with her. Kagome pushed these thoughts from her mind and finished breakfast as her grandfather and little brother Souta staggered tiredly into the dining room. This made her mother laugh.

"Well it looks like Kagome wasn't the only one that had trouble getting up this morning." She joked. The two men, however, did not find it funny and instead yawned and found a seat at the table.

At that moment, Kagome's iPhone vibrated. She pulled it out of her bag and checked to see who had tried to contact her. There was a text message from Sango showing on the screen.

"Kagome! I'm parked outside your house. Get your ass out here so we can get to school." Kagome laughed and got from the table. Sango and Kagome both had cars and, since they only lived a few houses away from each other, they had decided to carpool to school each day.

"Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat," Kagome said as she grabbed her school bag, "My ride is here."

"Alright sweetie." Her mother said, coming over to give her a hug, "Have a nice day at school."

"I'll do my best mom. See ya later." Kagome said as she rushed out the door.

Outside the sun was bright and the air was warm. Sango was waiting on the street in her black Audi R8. It was an expensive car, but given the company that their parents worked for, they could afford it. Kagome herself had a red Corvette ZR1. She loved the car, especially the 638 horsepower V8 engine. That was her favorite part. Sango's car was good too, but Kagome had always thought that it wasn't exciting enough. That didn't stop her from hopping in. Their carpool was necessary since neither of their cars had the best gas mileage. As soon as Sango saw Kagome close the door to her house, she started up the car. Kagome got in and was immediately assaulted by the sound of Breaking Benjamin's I Will Not Bow. It wasn't her favorite kind of music, but she could deal with it and understand why Sango enjoyed it. She was a mixed martial arts fighter in addition to a student and took it pretty seriously too. Kagome had seen her deck a few guys that had tried something she didn't like.

"Hey Kagome, you ready?" Sango asked once she had thrown her bag in the back and gotten in the passenger seat.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Kagome said sarcastically, "Let's go. Don't want to be late, right?" Sango laughed.

"Guess not." She said as she put the car in gear and peeled out of the neighborhood.

The two girls pulled into the school parking lot about ten minutes later at about 8:30, which meant that they had ten minutes before school started officially. They saw Rin and Ayame waiting for them and waving excitedly near the entrance to the school. Kagome smiled and waved back as she got her bag from the back seat of the car. There was another girl with short black hair standing with Rin and Ayame who they assumed was going to be their guide to their first class, which AP Comparative Government with Mr. Arihiro.

"Hey there!" The other girl said as Kagome and Sango approached them, "My name is Yuka. I'm going to be your guide to your first class since you all have the same one."

"Thanks." Kagome said, "I'm Kagome and this is Sango. I'm glad the school gave us guide. I'd probably get lost otherwise."

"Probably? More like definitely Kagome." Ayame joked. This made everyone laugh.

"I wouldn't worry about it. You'll figure out the layout of the school soon enough. It's pretty simple." Yuka assured her. With that Yuka turned around and walked into the school, motioning for the four girls to follow her.

Their first class was on the second floor of the three floor school. It was in room 232 and had about 19 students in it. All five girls walked in and found their seats. Predictably, they all sat together. Yuka found a seat close to them, but that was still next to her friends as well. Mr. Arihiro hadn't gotten to the class yet, so they had some time to talk.

"Hey guys!" Sango said in an excited voice.

"What is it Sango?" Kagome asked, curious about what had her like this.

"Take a look at the back of the class." She told them. All four girls turned around. Kagome's breath caught in her throat when she saw what Sango was talking about. There were two guys sitting in the back of the room. One had short black hair with beautiful brown eyes while the other had slightly shaggy dirty blonde hair and deep blue eyes to match. They seemed to be keeping mainly to themselves, but were obviously friends. Both looked incredibly attractive in their school issued khakis and black button down shirts. The four girls quickly turned back around to avoid being caught staring.

"Those guys were SO hot!" Rin said.

"Yeah no kidding." Ayame agreed.

"You guys think the black haired guy is taken?" Sango asked.

"Maybe, but I call the blonde guy." Kagome joked. She then turned to her guide and tapped her on the shoulder, "Hey Yuka, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah sure Kagome. What is it?" Yuka asked.

"Who are those two guys in the back of the room?" Kagome asked, pointing out who she meant. A smile appeared on Yuka's face.

"Noticed them already did you?" Yuka asked, chuckling, "I guess it was only a matter of time. The blonde guy is named Inuyasha and the black haired one is Miroku. They are the captains of all of the running teams. In the fall, they captain cross country, in winter it's indoor track, and in spring it's outdoor track. Those two are crazy fast and really well liked on the team. Problem is, though, that they're kinda reclusive the rest of the time. They spread that trait to a bunch of the other guys on the running teams as well. No one is really sure why. Inuyasha, gorgeous as he is, has only gone out with one girl during high school and that was in sophomore year. She became reclusive just like they are and eventually just disappeared from school. Nobody knows what happened to her. Miroku, on the other hand, has had several girlfriends. None of his relationships have lasted more than a month and none of the girls that have gone out with him will talk about it. It's really strange."

"Sounds like it." Ayame agreed.

"Inuyasha has really only had one girlfriend?" Kagome asked incredulously.

"Yeah." Yuka affirmed, "He could get any girl he wanted, but he just doesn't. I guess none of us are good enough for him." Kagome could tell that there was a little bit of bitterness in her voice. She guessed that Yuka had tried to win his affections at one point.

"What was the name of the girl he did go out with?" Kagome asked, curious as to the identity of the lucky girl.

"Oh her? Her name was Kikyo. Looked kinda like you actually." Yuka told her.

At that moment, they heard the door to the classroom open. An middle-aged man walked in. He looked to be in great shape, especially for his age. In his right hand, he held a cup of coffee and in his left he carried a laptop.

"Morning class." He said as he shut the door with his foot, "Sorry I'm late. Great example on the first day of school, I know." This got a laugh out of the class. Kagome already liked the man. She could tell that he had a good sense of humor and would be a good guy to talk to. He set his computer and his coffee on his desk at the front of the class and turned to face everyone.

"Ok guys, I'm terrible with names, so if it takes me a few weeks to learn your names, don't be offended. That being said, I think our first order of business should be to go around the room and introduce ourselves. I know that you're all seniors, so tell the class your name, academic interest, extracurricular interest, and... what type of deodorant you wear. Sound good?" This drew a great deal of laughter from the class. "I'll go first. My name is Kenji Arihiro. Obviously, my academic interest is government and politics. My extracurricular interest would be running, since I'm the long distance coach. And I use Old Spice Swagger and I'm not ashamed to say it." The rest of the class followed suit, including the reclusive Inuyasha and Miroku. They seemed to loosen up a bit around their coach.

The rest of class seemed to pass fairly quickly. It wasn't long before the hour and half long class was over and the bell rang to signal the class change. Mr. Arihiro dismissed everyone and Yuka and three other girls immediately went to Kagome and her friends.

"Hey guys." Yuka said, "The four of us are going to be your guides to the rest of your classes. Kagome, I'll be yours. Sango, you have Eri. Rin, you have Ayumi. And Ayame, you have Kagura." Each of them split off with the proper guide and headed out to the next class. Kagome followed Yuka out into the hall where everyone was milling about.

"Kagome, can I see your schedule? I just kinda want to know where I'll be taking you and where I've gotta pick you up." Kagome nodded and dug through her bag to find the paper. As soon as she found it, she handed it over to the girl who looked it over.

"Okay," Yuka began, still trying to memorize the sheet, "Looks like on Mondays and Wednesdays you've got AP Comparative Government with Mr. Arihiro for first period, British Literature with Mrs. Kyoda for third, Lunch, Art with Ms. Kaede for fifth, and study hall for seventh. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays you have AP BC Calculus with Mr. Junichi for second period, AP Physics with Mr. Myouga for fourth, Lunch, Spanish Conversation with Mr. Sadaharu for sixth, and Film Studies with Mrs. Kuwashima for eighth. Then on Fridays you have all of them for forty minutes each with Lunch after fourth. Damn Kagome, you've got a pretty tough schedule. You must be a pretty smart girl." Yuka said before handing back the schedule. Kagome blushed a bit out of embarrassment. She thought that the schedule was pretty easy, especially for senior year. Then again, she and her friends had always been seen as pretty smart.

"Yeah, I guess." Kagome responded a little sheepishly, putting the paper back in her bag.

"Well, I guess we should get going. Your Brit Lit class is in room 124 on the first floor, so follow me." Kagome did and made it to the class with plenty of time before the bell rang. She was happy to see that Sango was also in the class and took a seat by her.

Unfortunately for everyone in the class, Mrs. Kyoda happened to be one of the most boring teachers in the school. She was nice, but it was all Kagome could do to stay awake and it was only the first day of class. It was extremely relieving when the bell finally rang signalling the start of lunch which was about forty-five minutes long. Kagome and Sango got out of the class as quickly as possible to find Yuka and Eri waiting for them. They greeted each other happily. Eri, who'd had Mrs. Kyoda the year before was able to sympathize with how bored Kagome and Sango had been. Since both Kagome and Sango had brought their own lunches with them, Yuka and Eri led them to the Senior Commons where all of the Seniors ate lunch and hung out when they weren't in class. It was filled with couches, chairs, and even had a TV. They found Rin and Ayame waiting for them and quickly went to join them while Yuka and Eri went to join their friends.

"So guys how was your second class of the day?" Sango asked the other two, "Because Brit Lit was boring as hell for us."

"We just came from AP Environmental Science." Ayame told her, "Wasn't that bad. Looks like it's gonna be kind of a joke class."

"Kind of?" Rin said, laughing, "Definitely. Talked to someone who took it last year as a junior. He said it was the easiest class ever since they didn't do any work whatsoever."

"Wish I'd taken that." Kagome lamented, "Sounds so much better than AP Physics. I've heard that that class is impossible."

"Kagome, if there is anyone that can make an impossible class look easy, it's you." Sango encouraged her. Kagome blushed at the praise and was about to refute it before her friends cut her off to agree with Sango. Seeing that she wasn't going to get anywhere, she changed the subject.

"So you girls have any more classes with those two guys from Comparative this morning?" She asked.

"I heard that Inuyasha guy has Art with Ms. Kaede next." Rin told her.

"No way!" Kagome said, in complete surprise, "That is my next class!"

"You're kidding?" Ayame said. Kagome shook her head. She couldn't believe her luck. By pure luck of the draw, she had two classes in one day with the most attractive guy she had ever seen. Now she just had to work up the courage to talk to him.

The rest of lunch passed rather quickly. The four girls spent the time talking about their classes and about plans for after school. Ayame had soccer practice with her travel team and Rin had to pick up her mom from a doctor's appointment. That left Kagome and Sango to figure out something to do since Sango had worked out that morning. They decided to hang out at the track. Partly to have some time to talk, but mostly just to watch the two hot captains of the team run in the heat, hopefully without shirts. Both of them were satisfied with this plan and were finalizing it as the bell to end lunch rang out. The girls said their goodbyes and were led to their respective fifth period classes by their guide.

Yuka dropped Kagome off at the art room on the first floor. It was a typical art room with large art tables and a desk for the teacher at the front of the room. The desk, however, was empty. Teachers at this school seemed to have a tendency to be late. There was, however, a note on the whiteboard that directed students to find the seat that had the index card with their name written on it. That was going to be their assigned seat for the year. Kagome thought that the system was a bit childish, but didn't complain when she saw who she would be sitting immediately to her right. It was none other than Inuyasha Takahashi. He was already sitting in his seat, looking beautiful as per usual. Kagome didn't really know how to start off the conversation, so she sat down next to him without saying anything. Luckily for her and much to her surprise, he spoke to her.

"So, you're Kagome huh?" He said.

"Oh... Um... Yeah..." She stammered, "I'm Kagome. And you're Inuyasha right?" He nodded.

"Everyone treating you alright?" He asked, "I can imagine that it's hard being the new girl."

"Um... It's alright, I guess. Some of my friends came with me, so I'm not all alone. Plus the people seem nice enough." She told him. He smiled.

"That's good. I'm glad that the people around here have enough sense to not act like the asses they normally are to the new girl on the first day." He said, "Don't worry. It won't last. You'll see who people really are before the month is out." This made Kagome laugh.

"Oh joy. I am so looking forward to that." She joked.

"Just don't join 'em alright. You seem like a nice girl. Wouldn't want that to change." He told her seriously. There seemed to be a sadness in his eyes as he said that, but he quickly hid it.

"I'll do my best." Kagome assured him. This made him smile.

"Good. You know, you remind me of someone that I used to know." He said. Kagome was going to ask who, but before she could, a very old woman entered the room. She was wrinkly and used a cane to move around and slowly at that. The woman had a warm smile on her face and looked very friendly and understanding, just like an art teacher should.

"Good afternoon students. I am Ms. Kaede." She said warmly. Everyone greeted her back before she continued. "As you can see, you all have assigned seats. That is for a good reason. I want all of you to get to know each other instead of just sitting with your friends like you do in every other class. We're going to make new friends in here. In order to do that, I'm going to give you a fun little assignment to get to know the person sitting next to you." Some of the students groaned at the prospect of getting a project on the first day. However, whereas most teachers would have reprimanded this type of behavior, Ms. Kaede began to chuckle.

"I assure you that this will be fun. Plus, you'll have over a month to do it. All you have to do is spend time with your partner and figure out who they are on a deeper level. Then, create some form of art that represents them symbolically and holistically." She explained. Some students were obviously still not fond of the idea, but Kagome, however, quite liked this project. This was her opportunity to get to know Inuyasha, since she would now be working with him and trying to get to know him for over a month.

Ms. Kaede gave the class the rest of the period to spend talking with their partners for the project. Kagome asked Inuyasha about his interests with running and school and if he had any life goals. She found out that Inuyasha was the fastest runner on the team in every single running event that was longer than four hundred meters and that he ran for pure pleasure and no other reason. He also told her that he was more of a history person than anything else, but took this class because he needed an art credit to graduate. The one thing he avoided answering was what his life goals were, so Kagome decided not to push that subject. She figured that he had his reasons and that she could ask when they knew each other a bit better. Inuyasha on the other hand asked her what she liked to do for fun, what she liked to study, and about why she had moved to this school. She revealed that she was an artist that focused mainly on sketching and painting and that she also quite enjoyed history, though could only fit Comparative Government into her schedule this year. As to why she had moved, she told him that her mother's company had changed locations and that they were forced to move along with it. Kagome see him processing the information as she told him the answers that he was looking for. When she had finished, he had one more question to ask.

"What about your dad?" This was a question that Kagome hadn't anticipated. It was a simple question with a simple answer. The problem was, though, that the answer hurt.

"My dad? He's um... He died five years ago in a car crash." She struggled to get out. Inuyasha nodded in understanding.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that. I know how much that hurts. Both my parents died when I was very young. In fact, I never even got to meet my dad. He was murdered on the night I was born." He told her. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't anticipated that either.

"Oh..." She said lamely, "So who do you live with now?" Inuyasha smiled at this and got an almost amused look in his eyes.

"I guess you could say that I stay with some extended family members." He told her.

At that moment, the bell rang signaling the end of class. Kagome heard Yuka call her name from the doorway of the classroom. She was telling her to hurry up so she grabbed her bag, waved goodbye to Inuyasha, and started to head towards the door.

"Hey Kagome!" Inuyasha called after her. Kagome turned around to see him still sitting in his chair. "Welcome to Rumiko High."

**REVIEW! PLEASE! I DESIRE YOUR THOUGHTS!**


	2. What's With the Tattoo

Chapter 2: What's With the Tattoo?

Kagome spent the rest of her seventh period study hall almost in a daze. She simply laid on one of the couches that was in the Senior Commons and listened to music. All the while, her thoughts kept darting back to her conversation with Inuyasha. His smile was burned into her mind and his words drowned out the lyrics of her songs. She remembered the sadness in his eyes when he had talked about his parents' deaths. That was the one thing she could empathize with, the one thing about Inuyasha that she could understand. The rest of him was still a mystery to her. For some reason, this bugged her. She felt the desire, the need, to know him. It was a feeling that was completely alien to her.

Kagome lost herself in these thoughts and barely noticed the bell that rang to signal the end of the day. It took Sango giving her shoulder a good shake to make her snap back to reality. Sango even took out one of her headphones.

"Hey Kagome," Sango cooed into her ear before changing into a harsher tone, "it's time to stop daydreaming and wake up! School's over babe." Kagome laughed lightly.

"Sorry Sango." She said, "Guess I was just a little out of it."

"I could tell. Now come on." Sango told her, "Get your stuff. We've got a track to go to and certain people to check out." Kagome agreed and hastily got her things together before following Sango down stairs and out to the track where the cross country team would be running their workout.

Outside it was hot, but there was a nice breeze that made the heat bearable. Kagome was glad that she didn't have to run in this weather, but was happy that the guys did have to at the same time. It would make watching them that much more entertaining. The track itself was housed inside the school stadium. This wasn't because people at this school were all that crazy about running, but instead because the track encircled the football field, the sacred ground of most high schools. However, Kagome quickly realized that she and Sango weren't the only ones that had had the brilliant idea of coming to watch the team run on its first day of official practice. There were several other groups of girls scattered around the stadium. The team hadn't come out yet, so most were simply talking amongst themselves waiting for the main attraction. Sango and Kagome decided to do the same.

"So, how was art with Inuyasha?" Sango asked after they had found a place to sit. Kagome blushed immediately at the question.

"Um... It was good." She said lamely.

"Can I get a bit more information than that?" Sango prodded.

"Well, we got assigned an art project and he's my partner." Kagome admitted.

"Oooh. See, that's the kind of information that I was looking for." Sango said, "So what's the assignment?"

"We've got to spend time with the person and learn as much as possible about them. Then, in about a month, we have to turn in a piece of original art that represents our partner." Kagome explained.

"That's perfect!" Sango said excitedly, "You can use that to get close to him. Who knows? Maybe you'll be his second girlfriend of high school." Kagome's face turned a bright shade of at this which made Sango laugh.

"Well, what about you Sango?" She said, turning the tables, "Did you have any classes with that Miroku boy?" Now it was Sango's turn to blush.

"Well... um... yeah..." She admitted, "We had Psychology together seventh period."

"Oh really. Can I get a bit more information than that?" Kagome said, mocking her friend.

"He kinda sits behind me. Thing is, though, I think he spent the entire class staring at my ass." Sango told her. This answer surprised Kagome. He just didn't seem like that kind of person with how quiet and reserved he was.

"Are you serious?" Kagome asked incredulously. Sango nodded.

"Yeah it was a little weird. Kinda flattering, but repulsive at the same time." She admitted.

"Well, I guess we're gonna get a little payback with this now aren't we?" Kagome joked, getting a good laugh from Sango.

"I guess so." Sango agreed.

"Speak of the devil. There they are." Kagome said, pointing at the gate where about twenty guys were entering the stadium. Inuyasha and Miroku were at the front of the group leading them. They seemed completely different from their normal selves. All of the guys, including Inuyasha and Miroku, were being rowdy and joking around. A far cry from the people that the two girls had met in class.

"Damn." Sango commented in amazement, "They really are different when they're around the team."

"Yeah no kidding." Kagome agreed, "I wonder why that is."

"Well at this point, I really don't care. They just need to get their shirts off. I think we've waited patiently enough." Sango joked. Kagome wholeheartedly agreed. They were not disappointed.

After the guys finished warming up, the shirts began to be shed. Inuyasha and Miroku, as though they were intentionally trying to tease their female audience, were the last to strip the pesky article of clothing. There was something strange about many of the runners, though. A good number of them, including Inuyasha and Miroku, had a tattoo on their right shoulder. It was the image of two crossed swords over the image of a full moon.

"Hey Sango," Kagome said, tapping her friend on the shoulder to get her attention, "You see that?" Sango's eyes followed where Kagome was pointing and settled on the tattoo on Inuyasha's right arm.

"Yeah, I see it." Sango told her, "A bunch of them have it. More than half. Think it means anything?" Kagome shrugged.

"No idea. Maybe it's like a team bonding ritual or something." She hypothesized.

"Maybe." Sango conceded, "Thing is, I really don't care. All of those guys are hot, missing their shirts, and about to start their workout, so how about we shut up and watch the show." Kagome laughed, but agreed and sat back to enjoy the scene before her.

The workout lasted for just under an hour. Afterwards, the guys headed back inside the school, presumably to get some water and a shower. They definitely looked like they needed both. Kagome and Sango were disappointed to see them go, but knew that they needed to head home. The two girls gathered their things and exited the stadium. They were headed for the parking lot when they heard a familiar, friendly female voice call out their names. It was Yuka. They turned around to see her running towards them.

"Hey guys." She said happily when she had caught up to them, "Didn't expect to see you here. Probably should have, though, considering our conversation in Comparative this morning."

"Hey, we were just bored and needed some entertainment." Sango joked.

"Ha! I understand that. Don't worry, I'm not judging. I do it too, sometimes." Yuka admitted.

"Hey Yuka." Kagome said, thinking back, "You've noticed the tattoos on a lot of their arms, right?"

"Of course." Yuka told her, "A little hard not to."

"You know what they mean?" Sango asked. Yuka shrugged.

"Don't have a clue. All anyone knows is that the people that get them are the ones that become reclusive. The runners without the tattoo are pretty much normal people. They refuse to talk about their teammates, but otherwise they're normal. The ones with the tattoo are a little weird. It takes awhile for the change to really set in, but it always does eventually. They'll still be normal around the other guys on the team, but they'll pretty much avoid all other people. It's not just the guys either. It happens on the girls team too, just not as frequently." Yuka explained. Kagome and Sango took a few moments to process this information. It didn't take long for Kagome to formulate her next question.

"Yuka, do you know when all of this started?" She asked. Yuka nodded.

"It started my freshman year. I guess you guys would have been freshmen too. Inuyasha and Miroku came to the team like that and, eventually, the tattoo and the reclusiveness spread." She told her. Kagome nodded, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Hey Kagome." Sango said, interrupting her thoughts, "We gotta go. I need to pick up my little brother from football practice, remember?"

"Oh right!" Kagome said, the memory surfacing in her mind, "Thanks Yuka. See ya tomorrow."

"No problem guys. See ya later." Yuka said before waving and turning around to walk to her car. Sango was already in hers and starting it up. Kagome ran over, threw her stuff into the backseat and then hopped in the car just before Sango pulled out of the parking space.

As they were driving home, Kagome talked to Sango about all that they had just learned from Yuka. None of it seemed to make sense. There was just no reason for any of it. Sango thought that it might be gang related. The problem with that is that there weren't really any gangs around this area. Another possibility that Kagome up was that some sort of fraternity that they were all apart of, but they eventually decided that that wasn't logical either. After a while, the two girls simply gave up and decided that they would ask the guys the next day.

It wasn't long after that that Sango pulled up to Kagome's house. They said their goodbyes and Kagome hopped out of the car with her things. Sango sped out of the neighborhood creating a cloud of smoke. Kagome rolled her eyes at the antics of her friend before walking up to her door. She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Hey guys, I'm home." She called out. Her brother, Souta, popped out from around the corner.

"Hey sis. Mom's still at work in case you were wondering. Neighbors got me from school." He told her. Kagome nodded. It wasn't strange for her mother to work late. It was actually fairly common and was the reason that she got promoted so much.

"Where's gramps?" She asked.

"Taking a nap. He's laid out on the sofa like always." Souta said, annoyed.

"Yeah, he does seem to do that a lot nowadays." Kagome agreed, "Well, I'm gonna grab a shower. I need to relax."

"Go ahead." Souta said, turning around to go back upstairs to his room and watch TV. Kagome followed him up the stairs, but went to her own room instead. She really did need to relax. It was weird to her how stressed out she felt since she had only been in school for one day. Nevertheless, a shower was sure to help. She stripped down and stepped into her bathroom. The hot water of her shower felt amazing. All of the tension in muscles seemed to melt away. Her thoughts emptied as she enjoyed the pure pleasure of the water against her skin.

Kagome stayed in the shower for about a half hour before finally forcing herself to leave its comfort. She dried herself off and got dressed in her favorite shorts and a form fitting t-shirt, which just so happened to be the most comfortable clothes she owned. After getting the clothes on, she checked her phone. She had a message from Souta. The lazy kid had texted her instead of actually coming to get her after her shower.

"Sis, some guy came by and left a letter for you. Said you would know who it was from. Left it on the kitchen counter for ya." That was strange. Who would leave her a letter? Better yet, who even wrote letters anymore, let alone hand delivered them? Kagome shrugged these questions off and went downstairs into the kitchen to see what the letter said. She found it lying on the counter as Souta had said. It was in a very high quality envelope. The paper was thick and there were intricate designs printed on it. It was sealed with an old-fashioned wax seal. The strangest thing was, though, that seal was the same symbol as Inuyasha's tattoo.

Kagome broke the seal, removed the letter, and unfolded the paper to read. The short message was handwritten in very intricate script lettering. The letter read:

"Ms. Higurashi, you are now in a very precarious position. You stand on the precipice of destruction and on the doorstep to glory. You are both prey and predator. Hunted and hunter. This is exactly the quality that we desire. We can make use of and refine your skills and request your full cooperation. It must be stressed that you do have a choice in this matter. Our path is dangerous and not for all. However, it is also one that promises adventure and you are one of the elite few that we have identified that may be able withstand our path. We have one last piece of information for you. You are marked. Tell no one about the contents of this letter. People tend to start disappearing when that happens. Nasty business as I'm sure you understand. Please consider our request. Do not try to reach us. We will know your decision.

With love and loyalty,

-The Pack"

As she finished the letter, Kagome's phone vibrated in her pocket. Troubled, she got it from her pocket to find a very confused text message from Sango.

"Hey Kagome, did you get a weird letter today? Something about hunters and paths from "The Pack" or something? I got one and so did Rin and Ayame. That's why I'm texting you." Kagome immediately texted back that she had and suggested that they meet somewhere to talk about it. While she waited for a response, Kagome ran upstairs to her room to grab her keys and her purse. She got Sango's response as she closed the door to her room.

"Sounds good. Let's meet at that Starbucks we go to a lot. I'll tell Rin and Ayame to meet us there."

Kagome didn't bother responding to this. Instead, she yelled to her little brother, telling him that she was going out for awhile. He grunted as a response. Kagome rolled her eyes and ran out to her car. She hopped in and started up the Corvette. The powerful V8 roared to life sending vibrations through the car. Kagome never got tired of that feeling, but she wished that she was feeling it under better circumstances than the current ones. She put the car into gear and sped off for the coffee shop.

Kagome was the last to arrive. Rin and Ayame lived close to the Starbucks and Sango had gotten a head start on her. She ordered a latte and sat down at the table where her friends were sitting. They greeted her as she took a seat with her coffee. After a few pleasantries, Sango got to the heart of why they were there.

"Ok guys," She began, laying out her copy of the letter, "What the hell does this mean?" No one answered.

"What should we do about it?" Rin asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Do we really have a choice?" Ayame asked, her tone clearly depressed, "I mean, I know that it says we do, but it also says that we're marked. That normally means that someone is trying to kill you."

"Well, it's not like we can call the police or anything like that. Then they'll just start killing people." Kagome pointed out.

"That's if this letter is legit. It could just be some sort of sick joke." Sango said.

"For some reason, my gut says it's real." Ayame told her. The rest of the group agreed.

"Dammit!" Sango cursed, slamming her fist on the table, "So we either become "hunters" whatever that means, or people start dying?"

"That's what it looks like." Rin affirmed.

"I guess we have to at least hear them out then." Kagome said. The others nodded hesitantly. All of them were scared. Kagome was terrified. This couldn't be real, but her friends were right. Everything in her told her that it was. The letter seemed to scream its own legitimacy. It carried the weight of a much higher authority. Apparently, Kagome realized, her normal life was over. Something new, strange, and unnervingly exciting was about to start.

The girls spent the next half hour trying to figure something out from the letter. They didn't come to any conclusions. All that was clear was that they didn't really have a choice and that there was some connection between these letters and whatever the hell was going on with the runners at school. They gave up and decided to go home to think more about the whole situation. The other three went home immediately, but Kagome decided to get another coffee to calm her nerves before heading home. She heard the three pull away as the barista handed her her latte. Kagome took it and walked out to her car. As she approached it, she noticed something stuck to her windshield. It was another letter. Kagome's breath caught in her throat.

"Damn these guys work fast." She muttered to herself, taking the envelope into her hands and breaking the seal. The letter read:

"Two days. Midnight. Be waiting outside your house. Tell no one.

With love and loyalty,

The Pack"


	3. A Moonless Midnight

Chapter 3: A Moonless Midnight

One month earlier

Commander Arihiro stared thoughtfully out of his 30th floor office window. The view offered by the Shikon Industries office building of the Tokyo skyline was breathtaking. Of course, Shikon Industries was just a cover for what was actually going on in the building, but very few people were aware of that. The cover had even turned out to be a very successful business and provided a massive source of income that helped with operations. It was an unforeseen benefit that the commander was glad for. However, his main concern right now was the mission that had been plaguing his desk for months now. Naraku Jigoku, one of the most powerful men in Tokyo and leader of one of the most powerful gangs in Japan, had been a marked man for years. However, as his drug and arms trafficking became more and more high profile, people with a great deal of money began to care enough to actually hire people that could get the job done. That was how Naraku's name had ended up on his list of people to remove. The mission, though, was not as simple as it seemed. Naraku was a very intelligent man as well. He had anticipated every single attempt on his life that had been taken in the past few months. None of them had even been close to successful and several operatives had been killed in the field. Now, the commander had been forced to take drastic measures.

The sound of a speaker buzzing broke Commander Arihiro's train of thought and brought him back to reality. He walked over to the speaker and pressed a button that would allow his secretary to talk.

"Commander, the two operatives you asked to see are waiting for you." The friendly young female voice said.

"Send them in." Arihiro commanded.

"Yes sir." Came the voice again. A few moments later, two teenagers stepped through the door and stood at attention as the door was shut behind them. Arihiro waved them at ease and motioned for them to sit at the chairs in front of his desk. They did.

"Inuyasha, Miroku, I assume you know why I've called you in." Arihiro began.

"Yes sir." They said in unison. It couldn't have been more obvious.

"Good." Arihiro said, "This will not be a normal mission boys. In fact, neither of you will be pulling the trigger." The two men both had confused looks on their faces.

"Sir?" Inuyasha asked. Arihiro help up his hand to cut him off from saying anymore.

"As you know, Naraku has anticipated every move that we've made so far. He is a major drain on our resources and men and needs to be taken care of quickly." Arihiro explained, "I'm suggesting that we try something that he won't possibly be able to expect."

"What did you have in mind commander?" Miroku asked.

"You both have been stationed at Rumiko High School for the past three years for the purposes of recruitment. Your level of success has been astonishing. Officers Myouga and Kaede have done much to help you with this. Our numbers have grown significantly. Naraku is aware of this, however, and thus, we cannot even use any of these operatives. We need someone that has not had any contact with us or the school in which you are stationed before this year. Thankfully, we have arranged for just such an occurrence. Four girls will be transferring to Rumiko High for their senior year when school starts this fall. They have been identified already as potential candidates. Your job will be to evaluate them and bring them into the fold. They will be the ones we use to take out Naraku." Arihiro told them. Inuyasha scowled at the prospect of this and slammed his fist on Arihiro's desk.

"Are you fucking kidding me Commander?!" Inuyasha screamed at the senior officer, "You can't be serious about sending in four untrained, undisciplined teenage girls to take out the most difficult target that this organization has ever been given! We might as well execute them now because we'll just be sending them off to their deaths!"

"I have to agree with Inuyasha." Miroku said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, "This plan seems... Desperate at best."

"I understand your concerns." Arihiro said, "The same ones have run through my own mind. However, the girls' level of preparation will depend entirely on you. I trust that you will not let me down." Inuyasha gritted his teeth in frustration, but knew not to push his luck any further. He took a deep breath and modulated his time before continuing.

"So how long do we have?" He asked.

"From the start of school to the end of the first semester." Arihiro said simply. Inuyasha's jaw dropped. There was no possible way that this could be real. Any operative needed at least a year of intense training before being allowed to take on even basic missions. However, these girls would be taking on the most difficult mission in the history of the organization with an indeterminate amount of training since any of it that they did get would have to be done in secret. However, Inuyasha still kept his mouth shut. Arihiro saw that both of them were holding their tongues, but had accepted their mission.

"You are dismissed." He said. Both immediately got up and headed for the door. As Miroku exited, a thought hit Commander Arihiro.

"Inuyasha." He called out as Inuyasha was about to step out the door himself. Instead, he stopped in his tracks.

"Yes Commander?" He asked, voice clearly straining to remain emotionless.

"In a few months, it will have been two years since..." Arihiro trailed off.

"...Kikyo went rogue..." Inuyasha finished for him.

"Yes. I just wanted to know how you were doing. I know that you... Cared for her..." Arihiro said. Inuyasha's muscles visibly tensed.

"I'm fine commander." He said, anger peeking through in his voice, "She broke our code. She had no loyalty and abandoned love." The bitterness was painfully evident to Arihiro, but he didn't let on that he knew. Instead, acted as though Inuyasha was fine, as he had said, and dismissed him.

"The girl named Kagome resembles Kikyo." The commander muttered to himself once the room had emptied, "I hope that boy can differentiate between the two." Arihiro pushed these thoughts from his mind and went back to staring out from his office window.

Present day

Kagome tried her best to act normal at school the next day. She quickly figured out that her friends had also gotten the second letter, though no one ever directly said it. All of them knew how stupid it was to listen to what the letter had told them to do, but they also knew that they didn't really have a choice. Instead of focusing on the situation facing them, they decided to focus all of their attention on school. Kagome really did enjoy her classes that day, but her mind simply wasn't there. Inuyasha was in her fourth period AP Physics class with Mr. Myouga. It was obvious that he knew something. He avoided talking to her. Even when Kagome tried to instigate a conversation, he made every excuse to leave. There was also a certain sadness, a regret, that manifested itself in his eyes when he looked at her.

Kagome was happy when the bell signaling the end of school rang. She immediately left her class to find her friends. They were waiting in the senior commons and waved her over when they saw her.

"Hey guys." Kagome said as she approached them.

"Hey." They all said in unison.

"So... How was everyone's day?" Kagome asked, desperately trying to ignore the problem in front of them. Sango wasn't going to have that.

"Stressful." She said, "I can't get what's going on out if my head. I can't concentrate." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"It's because we're scared." Rin pointed out.

"Why shouldn't we be? We've got someone threatening us." Ayame said.

"Let's just not think about it right now." Kagome suggested, "We can't change it. All we can do is wait til tomorrow night and see what happens. The letter sounded like they had an offer for us. Maybe it won't be bad." Kagome was clearly trying to be optimistic. She didn't even believe why she was saying. As she thought this, she noticed a change in her friends' faces.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

"Hey Kagome." Came a familiar voice from behind her. She whirled around in surprise to see the face of Inuyasha. Kagome put a hand over her chest and took a deep breath.

"Hey Inuyasha. You startled me." Kagome said. An emotion that Kagome didn't recognize flashed across Inuyasha's face. It looked like a combination of sadness, anger, and something cold and analytical. However, it disappeared quickly to be replaced by Inuyasha's typical expression.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to." He said, smiling sheepishly, "I just saw you and wanted to say hey. So how are you?" Kagome looked to her friends before answering. Their expressions were ones of poorly masked concern and fear.

"I'm alright." She said after a moment, "You?"

"Good, I guess. School still treating you alright? Anyone shown their true colors yet?" Inuyasha asked.

"No not yet. Though, sometimes I wish I could see some people's." Kagome told him. Inuyasha got the hint.

"I see." He said with a hint of sadness, "Well, I've gotta get to practice, but before I go, Kagome, can you promise me something?" Kagome's face showed her confusion at the request.

"Sure. What is it?" She asked.

"Promise me that you'll be careful. Not everything or everyone at this school is... good... There are dangerous people that don't have your best interest at heart here." He said hesitantly. Kagome nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

"Alright." She said after a moment, "I promise." Inuyasha nodded before turning away and waving goodbye.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Kagome turned to see the questioning faces of her friends. Kagome's face portrayed the same expression.

"What the hell was that about?" Sango demanded.

"I have no idea." Kagome told her.

"Well he obviously knows something." Ayame pointed out, "His tattoo matches the symbol on the letter and he's giving us some sort of warning."

"True." Rin agreed, "But from how he's acting, I think we're going to be okay."

"How do you know?" Kagome asked, confused.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rin asked. The other three shook their heads. "Kagome, he obviously cares for you. Didn't you see the way he looked at you? The fact that he stopped to say hi means something too."

"But we only just me yesterday." Kagome protested.

"I don't know Kagome." Sango said, "I think Rin might be right."

"Now that you point it out. He definitely likes you Kagome." Ayame agreed. This made Kagome blush deeply.

"Great..." Kagome sighed, "The guy that likes me is threatening to kill a bunch of people." The girls couldn't help but laugh at this. Even Kagome chuckled.

"I guess you're right." Kagome conceded eventually, "Maybe we don't have too much to worry about. It's not like we can do anything about it anyway."

After a bit more conversation, the girls departed happily. They had optimistically decided that they didn't have anything to worry about. It may not have been logical, but then again, this wasn't a logical situation. Kagome walked out to her Corvette ZR1 with Sango. This time when she started up the car, she got to enjoy the feeling of the power of the engine. She peeled out of the parking lot and headed over to the neighborhood that she lived in with Sango. Kagome dropped off Sango and then headed off to her house.

She parked the car in the driveway. The house, as she already knew, would be empty. Her mother was working late again, Souta was at a friend's house, and her grandfather was at a doctor's appointment. Kagome got out of the car and walked to her door. It didn't take her long to notice what was there. A single red rose was sitting atop another sealed envelope. She bent down to pick up the two objects and broke the seal on the envelope. The letter read:

"Love is for the righteous

Shame is for those that abandon its embrace

Loyalty is paramount

Death comes for the traitor

You have gained favor with the Alpha

So let this rose symbolize our love

Our loyalty shall be proved upon the midnight when even wolves lie silent

But for now

You must trust our words

With love and loyalty,

-The Pack"

Kagome stared at the rose in her hand. It was beautiful. The flower itself was a deep red, the color of blood. Its thorns had been removed. The whole scene was confusing. Especially the feeling that she was being watched. She shook off the feeling as just her own paranoia and stepped inside the house. To be safe, however, she shut the blinds and closed the curtains in the house.

"Damn." Inuyasha sighed, "I wish she didn't have to go through this. Her or her friends." He mentally chastised himself for talking to no one before setting aside the rifle. The scope on it had been useful in making sure Kagome got the letter he'd left, even though he was a mile away. It would have also come in handy if any of Naraku's men had shown up. It didn't seem as if he knew what was going on yet, but Inuyasha wasn't going to take any chances, especially not with this girl. For some reason, he felt protective of her. It might have been the fact that she looked so much like Kikyo. The only difference between them was the fact that Kagome seemed to be a much warmer person. Normally that would have been a good thing, but it worried Inuyasha for the line of work she was about to be thrown into. She might be too soft. That's why Inuyasha had demanded to be the one to induct her the following night. It was a last minute change, but one that he thought was necessary. Miroku had done the same for Sango. Rin would be left with Inuyasha's older brother, Sesshomaru, while the girl named Ayame would go with Koga, a hothead that Inuyasha had never gotten along with. In truth, he didn't get along with his brother either. To be honest, there were very few people in the world that he actually liked. That's part of what made this business so easy. That and the pay was pretty damn good.

Inuyasha stored away the rifle in a case and climbed down from the tree in which he had been hiding. He walked over to his black Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4. A beautiful car. The only problem was that it had no storage space whatsoever, so he had to store the rifle in the passenger seat. He stepped into the driver's seat and started the car. All 700 horses immediately came to life and the car let out a loud growl. With a top speed of 230 miles per hour, who needed storage space? Inuyasha revved the engine before letting go of the brake and peeling out of the park. He hit 60 in less than three seconds and would be home in no time.

The next day past much like the last one for Kagome. Uneventful with her not being able to pay even the slightest bit of attention to any of her classes. Her friends had the exact same problem. Mr. Arihiro and Ms. Kaede seemed sympathetic while Mrs. Kyoda didn't seem to give a damn, since everyone slept in her class anyway. The mysterious thing, however, was that neither Inuyasha nor Miroku were at school. No one seemed to know why, though, Kagome had expected that much.

Once the bell signaling the end of school had rung, the girls ran to meet up in the senior commons. Kagome was already there, but didn't have to wait long for her friends to show up. They greeted each other and tried to act normal until the halls cleared. Once they did, the began their real discussion.

"So," Ayame began, "What's the plan?"

"I guess just to be outside of our houses at midnight." Rin said.

"What if this thing goes longer than the night?" Sango asked, "How will we keep our parents from knowing about this? I mean, it's not like we can tell them." The girls nodded and began to try to think up an answer. Kagome got it first.

"Tell them we're having a sleepover or something." Kagome suggested, "We can have anything we might need with us that way and none of our parents will suspect anything if we're not at home in the morning. We'll all have to say we're at a different person's house, but I doubt that our parents will check."

"So we say we're having a sleepover and then show up at our houses at midnight to see whatever it is that these guys have planned?" Rin asked. Kagome nodded.

"That's a good idea Kagome." Ayame said.

The girls spent another few moments establishing who would be "sleeping over" at which house. After all had been decided, the girls broke to call their parents. Everyone got the permission to do it so the plan was set. Then each of them went home to get their things ready.

Night fell hours later. It was almost pitch black because it was the night of the new moon. Each girl was waiting outside her own house while her parents slept inside. Kagome was especially nervous. It was 11:59 and she saw no one. She began to worry about what was going to happen to her. What if the right guys didn't show up? What if the bad guys got her? What if this so called "Pack" was the bad guys? She didn't have to think about these things for much longer. As soon as her watch said 12:00, a sleek black car traveling silently with its headlights off appeared out of the pool of darkness that was the night. It stopped directly in front of her. The door to the Lamborghini opened upwards and the silhouette of a figure beckoned her inside. She did as the figure directed and shut the door quietly behind her. The car started to move again as soon as she had put on her seatbelt. That was when a strong, warm hand gently took hold of her own. The hand was soon accompanied by a familiar male voice.

"Now we shall prove our loyalty."


	4. And So It Begins

Chapter 4: And So It Begins

Kagome had honestly been expecting the voice that hit her ears. It was logical and was the only thing that made sense in this crazy situation. However, that still didn't mean she was ready to hear Inuyasha's voice. He was someone that went to school with her. He was someone that, while quiet and reclusive, was nice and kind. He was someone that Kagome almost felt as though she had a connection with on a level that she didn't understand.

"Why are you doing this?" Kagome forced herself to ask after a few minutes of silence. She was still clutching onto his strong hand. Inuyasha chuckled lightly.

"That's always the question isn't it? Though, normally, it's from the hunted, not the hunter."

"Well, I don't exactly feel like a hunter right now." Kagome shot back, her tone harsh. Inuyasha chuckled again.

"That little outburst right there proves that statement wrong." He told her, "You are strong and independent, even when faced with an illogical situation. That's something I like and something you'll need." This confused Kagome greatly. She had no idea what this guy was talking about.

"What the hell does that mean? And you never answered my question." Kagome pointed out. Inuyasha shrugged in the darkness.

"True enough. We've identified you and your friends as good candidates for a special operation that we're conducting." He told her keeping his voice calm and even cheerful.

"Who the hell is 'we'?" Kagome demanded. Inuyasha laughed at this.

"All will be revealed in time." He said in a mocking tone, "For now, let's just say that it's the organization that I work for." Kagome gritted her teeth. At this point, her frustration was overriding her fear.

"So what's going to happen to us?" She asked, referring to her friends.

"Just a little test." Inuyasha answered simply, "Now, no more questions. Sit back and relax. You'll need a clear head." Kagome, able to tell that he was serious about her not asking anymore questions, obeyed her captor and sat back in the seat of the Lamborghini. Inuyasha sighed a sigh of contentment at her obedience and focused his attention back on driving through the blackness of night that was only lit by a few scattered street lamps, since his headlights were still off.

Many different thoughts raced through Kagome's head when she saw where they had arrived. None of them made sense or were even the least bit coherent, so she abandoned them and stared at the structure in front of her. It was a warehouse. The Shikon Industries logo was blazoned on several different crates surrounding the building and a sign with the same was above the large double doors. In the midst of her examination of her surroundings, Inuyasha got out the car and walked around to the other side of it to open her door. The coolness of the night air washed over her as the door opened. Kagome took the hand that was offered to her and allowed Inuyasha to help her out of the car. Under normal circumstances, she would have offered her thanks, but she really didn't feel like thanking anyone at that point. Inuyasha closed the door and led her to the front of the warehouse. Without warning, the door opened, seemingly of its own accord. Kagome guessed that they were being watched. She was right.

Inuyasha walked into the building and motioned for Kagome to follow. She did so, but advanced warily. The warehouse was pitch black and silent. This silence, however, was quickly broken.

"Ah, I see you've made it." A voice said from further back in the large room. Kagome could not see the source of the voice, but it sounded unnervingly familiar. She could swear that she had heard it earlier that day. Kagome hesitated for a second, but after hearing Inuyasha continue forward, she did as well. As they walked, Kagome heard the sound of several guns cocking one-by-one. They sounded big and powerful, like one shot would take off a limb. Frankly, the sound terrified her, but she figured that moving forward would make her a harder target to hit, especially in the dark, and that staying close to Inuyasha would discourage them from firing. Suddenly a high pitched scream pierced the air. It made Kagome nearly trip over herself in surprise and fear. The sound was full of pain and clearly female. It was followed by another agonizing male scream. What made it all unbearable, yet bearable at the same time, was the thick shroud of darkness that covered her eyes. She couldn't make out what was going on around her and didn't know what was awaiting for her at each step. That was terrifying. However, she was also hidden from the horrors she was sure surrounded her by the darkness, which was strangely comforting. The conflicting nature of it all confused Kagome, so she simply decided to stay close to the only thing she was sure of in that building. She stayed on Inuyasha's heels and made sure that she didn't depart from him. In fact, she was following so close that when he stopped unexpectedly, Kagome nearly slammed into his back.

The spotlight that flashed on above them blinded Kagome forcing her to look down to the floor. It took her a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the light. The first thing she saw were her own shoes, the back of Inuyasha's, and the ornate wooden legs of two chairs that flanked her left and right. Slowly she looked up to allow her eyes to finally search her surroundings. However, her eyes stopped when they came upon the man reclining in the chair in front of her.

"Mr. Arihiro?" Kagome asked, confused. The voice that had welcomed her into this warehouse belonged to him.

"Why yes dear." He said, smiling broadly, "That's me." Kagome turned her head from Inuyasha to Mr. Arihiro and back again. Arihiro put up his hand drawing her attention to him once again.

"Kagome, my dear, you may want to sit down." He said, motioning to one of the expensive cushioned seats behind her, "You'll get dizzy if you keep that up." Inuyasha laughed at Arihiro's joke and then helped Kagome down into the chair before sitting in the second chair beside her. Kagome broke her stare at Arihiro to run her hands through her hair from the stress of it all.

"What is going on?" She muttered to herself. Arihiro overheard her.

"I believe I can help you with that." He said calmly, "We have use of you. You're cooperation is expected."

"I don't even know who you are!" Kagome yelled at the man, "You expect me to help you?"

"Well, yes." Arihiro said flatly.

"I guess I don't have any choice!" She snapped, "You're just going to kill everyone I care about if I don't!"

"Not quite." The man told her, chuckling, "You're mother works for us. So did your father. We would never do that to one of our own. Ever. Love and loyalty my dear. Love and loyalty. Remember that." Kagome's eyes widened in surprise and her jaw dropped. These features quickly became a deep scowl.

"Liar!" She screamed, "My mother would never work for you!"

"Kagome, you don't even know who I really am. How can you say that your mother would never work for me?" Arihiro asked.

"Because she doesn't work for people who kidnap others, especially her own daughter!" Kagome yelled. The man smiled at her defiance.

"Kagome, ask yourself what company your mother works for." Arihiro said.

"She works for Shikon Industries. What does that have to do with anything?" Kagome demanded.

"What warehouse are we in right now?" He asked. Kagome thought for a second. They were in a Shikon Industries warehouse, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. It definitely did not mean that her mother worked with a bunch of criminals.

"So?" Kagome shot back, "That proves nothing!" Arihiro chuckled.

"True. A good observation." He said, "Do you know where you mother is right now?"

"Yeah. She's working late. She does it all the time." Kagome told him.

"Is that something that a normal parent of a high school student would do?" He asked. Kagome knew the answer was no. She had often asked herself why her mother did that so often, but she had always come to the conclusion that she was doing it for the family. Arihiro continued before Kagome could answer his question.

"Your mother knows that you are here. She also knows exactly why you are here. Lastly, she wants you to be here." Arihiro said, "She's wanted it ever since your father was murdered." Kagome's face became twisted with confusion.

"My father wasn't murdered." She told him, "He died in a car accident."

"So is that what she told you?" Arihiro asked, laughing, "Ahh, the lies we tell the ones we love. I guess she wanted to wait until you were older to break the truth to you. No your father was murdered while on a mission. Shot 37 times after being tortured. When they realized that they would never be able to get him to talk, they killed him and burned his body. I guess that's why they went with a car accident as his cause of death. Of course he would never talk. He would never let anyone come near his precious little miko." Kagome froze when she heard the last part of Arihiro's sentence. Only her father had ever called her by that nickname. She had never told anyone about it. Not even her closest friends. The only person that even knew about it was her mother and she had never even said the word "miko" after his death. That begged the question of how this man knew about it. The only way was if he was well connected to her family and her father. Arihiro noticed her face change as these thoughts flooded her mind and smiled.

"You want to know who killed him?" Arihiro asked. Kagome's head shot up. There was no longer any doubt in her mind. This man had to be telling the truth. She couldn't find words, so she simply nodded, signaling Arihiro to continue.

"His name is Naraku Jigoku. I assume that you've heard of him." He said. Kagome nodded. How could she not have heard about him? He led one of the most successful businesses in the world. Everyone had heard of Naraku Jigoku. Arihiro nodded back and continued speaking, "Well, he's not as straight edge as everyone seems to think. He leads one of the most active and violent gangs in Japan. They run the drug trade, the arms trade, and the sex trade in this country. Nothing bad happens that he or his gang don't have a hand in. However, he has not always led the gang. Your father was sent to take out the leader of the gang before Naraku took over. Problem is, someone leaked the plan and your father was captured and murdered. Naraku, as the second in command, got the job of torturing and killing your father." Tears were flooding Kagome's eyes. All this time, she hadn't really known how her own father had died. She hadn't even know what he did. Hell, she still didn't know. She'd been lied to her entire life and she couldn't understand why. A comforting hand took hold of Kagome's shoulder. It was Inuyasha. He gave her a reassuring nod and looked at her with kind eyes. For some reason, she took strength from them and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Okay." She choked out, "So what did my father do? You said that he was going to "take out" the old leader. What does that mean?"

"Ahh, that is a good question Kagome." Arihiro said, "We are assassins. In fact, your father was one of the best. Your mother isn't too bad either." Kagome's jaw dropped.

"My parents can't be assassins." She said, more trying to reassure herself than anything else, "My father was the best person on earth and my mother is too."

"And that is exactly why they joined us Kagome. We are a group that specifically targets people that are evil. We will only accept a job from a client if it is for someone that hurts others. Naraku fits this bill perfectly." He explained. Kagome couldn't argue with that last point. If everything Arihiro had said was true, which she was starting to believe it was, then Naraku was one of the worst people on earth.

"Okay." Kagome breathed, trying to sort everything out in her mind, "So my parents are assassins that only kill bad people, my dad was murdered by one of the most powerful businessmen in the world, and I'm trapped in a secluded warehouse. What do you want with me?"

"Well Ms. Higurashi, we want you, along with your friends, to take up the mission of killing Naraku." Arihiro told her, "He is an intelligent man and has anticipated all of our attempts to kill him in recent months, which has led to the deaths of many of our operatives. This has forced us to take drastic measures. We need to use people that have had no connection with any of the places that we have been known to work in before we got the contract. This includes Rumiko High School since we use that as one of our main recruitment areas. You and your friends meet this standard and all have family history with us which Naraku won't know about. You also passed each one of our tests. You made the correct decision in coming here. You didn't crack under the pressure of not being able to tell anyone. You were even brave enough to walk through a pitch black abandoned warehouse with the sound of guns and screaming ringing through it. Because of this, you are the perfect candidate. All we need now is your agreement. Will you help to avenge your father and take out one of the most evil men on the planet?" Kagome didn't even have to think about the request. She already knew her answer and gave it immediately.

"Yes." She said, determination clear in her voice, "I'll join as long as it's me that gets to kill that bastard." Arihiro clapped his hands together happily.

"Wonderful! That settles it then! Your training with Inuyasha begins tomorrow. You'll be going on a "foreign exchange program" for a while. Oh, and don't worry about school. We'll make sure you keep up with your classes. Our agents do need to be intelligent after all. You'll be fine when you come back next semester, especially with a girl as smart as you. Now go home and get some rest. I assure you that you'll need it." Kagome nodded and stood up. Inuyasha stood up with her and turned to walk out the double doors, which had opened again. She quickly followed after him, not wanting to be left behind. Arihiro called out after them.

"Oh and Kagome!" He yelled. Kagome turned back to look at the man still sitting in the chair, "Welcome to the Pack."


	5. Pack Life

**Hey guys! Please review this. It would make writing it SO much easier if I had feedback. I would love to hear your thoughts about what you do and don't like about it so far. So please please please review! Thanks guys! Now onto the story.**

Chapter 5: Pack Life

Inuyasha drove Kagome home that night. The ride was silent, but that was how Kagome wanted it. She could tell that Inuyasha was dying to talk to her, but knew that she needed time to think about all that had just happened. After all, her entire life had just been flipped on its head. A million thoughts were racing through her head because of this. Why had her mother never told her any of this? Why hadn't she been brought up in this culture? What did the Pack want with her friends? What was training going to entail? All of these thoughts and more bombarded Kagome's consciousness. Without coming to any answers, the two of them arrived at her house. Inuyasha, as usual, opened her door for her and helped out of the car. He then walked her to the door and turned her around to face him. Kagome was struck by how beautiful his eyes were. All of the thoughts that she had when she first saw him came back to her in that moment. This man really was the most handsome creature that she had ever seen. The mere idea of him took her breath away. He moved closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders. To her embarrassment, she could feel the warmth of a blush spreading across her face.

"Are you alright Kagome?" He asked softly, his voice a whisper. Kagome's voice was caught in her throat so she just nodded. Inuyasha smiled making Kagome's heart skip a beat.

"Good I'm glad. Get some sleep okay. You'll need it." He said, taking his hands from her. Kagome immediately brought her hand up to keep one of his on her shoulder.

"Inuyasha, do you... do you want to come inside?" Kagome asked nervously. Inuyasha flashed her another heart stopping smile and then took her into his embrace.

"Not tonight Kagome. Not tonight." He whispered into her ear before kissing the top of her head lightly, "Good night, Kagome." Kagome wanted to respond, but couldn't make herself produce words. She stayed in Inuyasha's embrace for a few more moments before he released her. With one more look into her eyes Inuyasha walked off into the darkness and drove off again.

Kagome stared off in the direction that Inuyasha drove off in for at least another five minutes before forcing herself to go inside. The house was dark and empty. Her mother obviously still wasn't home and her brother and grandfather were probably asleep. She checked her watch. It read 2:37. Kagome sighed and trudged her way up the stairs to her room. The bed welcomed her into its own soft embrace. She should have been trying to fall asleep or at least be thinking about the meeting that she had just had. Problem was that the only thing she could think about was Inuyasha. She couldn't get his soft voice out of her head. It was like honey to her ears. Thoughts of his embrace sent shivers down her spine. His warm, well muscled body felt right against her own. It seemed to promise that everything was going to be alright. All she wanted at that very moment was to be lying next to Inuyasha instead of being alone in her cold bed.

"Damn." Kagome laughed to herself, "I'm in love with an assassin. How stupid can I get?" She sighed and pushed these thoughts from her mind. It wasn't long after that that her exhaustion got the best of her. She gave herself up to sleep and to dreams of a life not her own.

The tree Kagome was leaning against was large and solid, just like many of the trees in this picturesque forest. The bark was rough and felt strange, yet familiar on her skin. She could almost feel the life flowing through. It offered a sharp contrast to the cold, dead steel of the pistol in her hands. Kagome was ripped from these thoughts by the distinctive explosion that came from the discharge of a high powered rifle. The bullet slammed into the side of the tree that Kagome was hiding behind, sending splinters flying into the air. Kagome made a break for it. She knew that she only had a fraction of a second before the man firing at her had pulled back the bolt of the rifle again and fired.

Kagome barely made it to the next tree as another bullet pierced the air. It was obvious that she wasn't going to last much longer unless she could take out the bastard firing at her. That decided it for her. She needed to start advancing or else she was going to die. Another bullet slammed into a tree. That was her cue. She broke from behind the tree and rushed forward to another one. The shots were coming up from the ground. Whoever was shooting at her obviously wasn't smart enough to take position in the trees. Kagome broke again as another bullet left the rifle. As she ran, she saw it. An area of alien black against the familiar greens and browns of the forest floor. That was her target. Yet another shot ripped into the side of a tree. Kagome took the fraction of a second offered to her and popped out from behind the tree. She aimed and fired off two shots in such quick succession that the man didn't even have time to finish pulling back the bolt. She heard the grunt of pain from the man as her bullets penetrated into his chest where she had aimed them. A smirk broke out across Kagome's face. The man wasn't dead, but he was never going to get back up again.

Kagome walked calmly out from behind the tree. She walked over to the man to check him and put him out of his misery. He wasn't moving. but she could tell that he was alive because of the groan of pain that was muffled by the ground that escaped his lips. It made Kagome laugh. She kicked the rifle away and used the same foot to roll the man onto his back. The face that stared back up at her made her breath catch in her throat. Her father's caring eyes looked deep into her own.

"Daddy..." Kagome said, her voice a whisper as the tears began to fall, "But... Why..." Her father smiled as a dribble of blood ran from the edge of his mouth.

"Kagome, my little miko, I love you." He said weakly.

"I know dad. I know, but why didn't you tell me any of this? Why did you lie to me?" She asked desperately.

"It was foolish of me to keep it from you. This has always been your destiny. All I wanted was to keep you safe. That's not something that this life provides. I was a fool. Please forgive me Kagome." He begged as his voice grew softer. Kagome dropped to her knees and took her father into her arms.

"Of course dad! Of course I forgive you! Please dad! Just don't leave me!" Kagome screamed hysterically.

"Kagome, you must..." Her father coughed.

"What is it dad? What must I do?" She begged.

_Beep..._

"What the hell was that?" Kagome thought to herself.

"You must..." Her father coughed again.

"Must what, dad?" Kagome yelled.

_Beep!_

The strange sound confused Kagome to know end. It was familiar, but offensive all at the same time.

"You must..." Her father repeated as the light in his eyes began to fade.

"Please tell me dad! Please! I would do anything for you!" She pleaded.

_BEEP!_

"You must..." Her father said again.

"Yes?" Kagome breathed.

"Kill Naraku..." He finally said as the light finally left his eyes.

"DADDY! NOOO!" Kagome screamed, burying her face into her father's chest.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The horrid sound of the alarm clock next to Kagome's bed wrenched the girl from her nightmare. She awoke screaming those last words to her father. Her body was wet with cold sweat and she was breathing heavily. Kagome could feel eyes burning into the side of her face. She turned to face the feeling and was met by the gaze of a certain blue eyed, blond haired assassin. His eyes were filled with concern. This expression was quickly replaced by one that was hard and devoid of emotion. The only problem was that Kagome knew that the previous one had been there and it warmed her heart.

"So you're finally awake?" Inuyasha asked dryly. Kagome nodded as she tried to still her pounding heart.

"Doesn't look like you slept well." He commented, seemingly noticing her stressed appearance for the first time. Kagome saw right through it. No one could have missed her screaming or her cold sweat, especially a trained assassin trained to see everything. Kagome ignored his attempts at indifference and simply shook her head. Inuyasha sighed.

"That's unfortunate. Well, you should get some breakfast. We're going to headquarters in two hours. Be ready to leave by then." He told her. Kagome nodded and got out of bed as Inuyasha left her room.

She quickly stripped off her clothes from the night before and hopped into the shower. The hot water did wonders to wash off the memories of her nightmare. Her father's face, though, was something that she couldn't get out with any amount of soap. After about a half an hour, Kagome quit trying and turned off the water. She quickly dried herself off and walked out into her room. There was a set of clothes waiting for her. Inuyasha must have come back in while she was in the shower and left them there. For some reason, the thought made her blush. Kagome shook her head, ridding herself of the thought, and approached the clothes. There was a black sports bra, a skin tight black athletic t-shirt, a form fitting black collared shirt made out of a very light fabric that seemed like it would be very useful during physical activity, black skinny jeans, black running shoes, and black fingerless gloves. Even the hair tie that they left for her to put her hair into a ponytail was black.

"Damn, these guys really like black." Kagome muttered to herself, "All black is definitely not my thing." She also noticed that not a single piece of clothing had a tag or logo on it, so she guessed that it had all been specially made for the Pack. All of the clothes were extremely comfortable and seemed to be aimed towards a goal of maximum mobility. Even the skinny jeans were highly mobile.

Once she finished getting dressed, she went down the stairs, following the smell of food. Kagome was surprised by the sight in front of her. Her mother and Inuyasha were dressed in the same clothes that she was. She coughed drawing their attention. Her mother's head turned toward her and gave her a warm smile.

"Morning sweetie." She said, as if everything were normal.

"Morning..." Kagome said hesitantly, walking slowly towards the table. Her mother sat out a plate of pancakes for her and then turned back to whatever she was working on. Kagome peeked over to see what that something was. The sight that greeted her curiosity quickly showed that everything was not normal. She was cleaning the barrel a handgun. Kagome sighed and turned back to her pancakes to eat. Inuyasha noticed her distress and put his hand over one of hers. He flashed her a comforting smile before returning to the food in front of him.

After all of them were finished with their respective tasks, eating for Kagome and Inuyasha and cleaning several different weapons for Kagome's mother, Inuyasha announced that it was time to leave. They walked outside and were faced by another very expensive car. A black Bentley Continental GT was sitting in the driveway.

"How many crazy cars do you have Inuyasha?" Kagome asked incredulously.

"That one isn't mine." Inuyasha answered simply, "It's yours." Kagome's jaw dropped.

"How much money does the Pack have?" Kagomes asked. This made her mother laugh.

"Enough dear." She answered in her typical cheery voice. Kagome shrugged off her mother's vague answer.

"My Corvette is faster." Kagome joked dryly. This time Inuyasha and her mother both laughed.

"Not quite." He said, "We modified it just a bit. The engine now produces about 784 horsepower. We also changed some things to make the power a bit more efficient in getting to the wheels. It now has a top speed of about 220 miles per hour and it does 0 to 60 in about 3.1 seconds. Quite a bit better than your Corvette. It also handles better and is much better equipped on the inside, including a small arsenal and champagne cooler."

"Wow... That's the best possible combination..." Kagome joked, "Fast cars, guns, and alcohol. Gotta love it."

"Oh you will." Her mother said, hinting that she had and, quite possibly, still did.

"Don't wanna know mom." Kagome said dryly. Inuyasha bust out laughing at this, while her mother feigned a look of being hurt.

"Alright." Inuyasha said when he had finally composed himself, "Here, take the keys." Kagome caught the keys that were thrown to her. She smiled, unlocked the car with the remote, and ran down to get into the driver's seat. Inuyasha followed and got into the passenger seat, while her mother got into the back.

"Start her up dear." Her mother said, "I want to get this show on the road." Kagome chuckled as she put the keys into the ignition. Her mother was clearly very excited to see her precious little daughter become an assassin. Obviously, every mother's dream. Kagome started the car and backed out the driveway before peeling out of the neighborhood, testing the car's speed for herself. She was not disappointed.

Her mother quickly found the arsenal. In the back of the two front seats were two assault rifles. On the driver's side, there was an HK 416, while on the passenger side there was an HK G36E. Underneath the floor in the back seat, there was an assortment of ammunition, explosives, and accessories for the weapons. In the glove box, there was a botton that released a box that held two Barreta M9 pistols and several knives. Inuyasha informed them that there was an RPG-7 hidden away in the trunk along with several different types of munitions that it could fire. All of the glass was bullet-proof and the car could easily withstand small explosions without any damage. The tires would work even while they were flat or shot out. All in all, the car was a luxurious mobile fort.

Inuyasha directed her to the Shikon Industries parking deck. Then, to her surprise, he directed her towards the reserved parking section. She had her own parking space at the headquarters of the most successful business in Japan and one of the most powerful groups of assassins in the world. It was quite intimidating, yet thrilling at the same time. They got out of the car and walked right in the front door. It was not what she expected, but then again, neither was anything that was going on. At least she understood that Naraku wouldn't know. The Pack had the entire area for a 15 block radius locked down to any of Naraku's followers, and they knew every one of them.

Once inside the building, all of them were greeted with the utmost respect. People bowed and bid their greetings her, her mother, and Inuyasha. Each and everyone of them congratulated Kagome for her achievement and wished her luck.

"Does everyone in here know?" Kagome asked her mother.

"Most have at least some idea of what is really happening. The others have simply learned to go along with it." She told her. Inuyasha nodded his agreement. The elevator in front of them opened before they even got to it. It was empty so they walked in to use it. Inuyasha punched the button for the 30th floor and the doors closed immediately.

The elevator doors opened up again after a few minutes onto the floor that Inuyasha had intended. They were greeted by the smiling face of a female attendant. She welcomed them to the building and then bid them to follow her down the hall. They did. Kagome took in the rather bland hallway as they were led down it. It was mostly gray with the only spots of actual color coming from the very expensive looking wood doors. All together unimpressive, but Kagome guessed that was probably the point. Can't have a row of offices looking like anything more than a row of offices to anyone that happens to come up here.

The attendant stopped at one particular office. It looked just like every door on the hallway. The only difference was the name on the door. It read:

"Kenji Arihiro, CEO"

"Damn." Kagome said in surprise, "Mr. Arihiro is the CEO? Impressive." Her mother laughed.

"He's a man of many talents, Kagome. And no cursing." She reprimanded jokingly.

"Oh, so I'm allowed to drive fast cars, drink, and kill people, but cursing crosses a line." Kagome said sarcastically.

"The girl has a point Mrs. Higurashi." Inuyasha joked.

"I guess she does." She chuckled. The attendant cleared her throat purposefully, drawing their attention.

"Commander Arihiro is ready for you. Are you ready to go in?" She asked.

"Yes." Inuyasha answered, "Thanks Kazumi." The girl flashed him a friendly and somewhat inviting smile before walking off with a wink. For some reason, jealousy flared up in Kagome's mind and it took almost all of her self-control not to attack the flirt. Her mother noticed immediately and chuckled, putting her hand on Kagome's shoulder and directing her into the now open office door.

As they walked into the office, they were greeted by Arihiro's back. The man was staring out the window at the Tokyo skyline. Inuyasha cleared his throat causing Arihiro to turn his head and acknowledge his guests. He smiled as his eyes came to rest upon Kagome.

"Ahh! Kagome, my dear, I'm so glad that you could make it!" Arihiro said happily, "I hope you like the car. It is one of the many gifts that you will receive from The Pack."

"Thank you." Kagome said not actually sure how to respond to being given a car that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, "It's an amazing car."

"It is indeed. If you ever want another, we can have that arranged. In fact, we are currently modifying your ZR1. I hope you don't mind. We are simply making it better, I assure you. We may also be stocking it with a few weapons." Arihiro said. Kagome was a little shocked that they had taken the initiative to modify her car, but was still reeling from the fact that all she had to do was ask for a car and it would be provided for her. No wonder her mother got paid so well.

"It's fine. I appreciate it." Kagome told him, honestly. Arihiro smiled broadly.

"Good, good. Now have seat. We have much to discuss as I'm sure you know." Arihiro said, motioning to three leather chairs in front of his desk. The three of them did as they were asked as Arihiro took a seat behind his desk.

"So, before we start, do you have any questions that come to mind right now?" He asked. In truth, Kagome probably could have kept him there for hours with questions, but she decided to limit them to only the ones she considered of the utmost importance to her.

"Where are my friends?" She asked.

"I figured that you would be curious as to that. They are in different offices along this hallway with their parents and different high ranking officers. Their parents are agents just like your mother and are currently undergoing this same meeting. It is likely that they will be done before you, however. They got here much earlier than you. Inuyasha insisted that you be able to sleep." Arihiro explained. Inuyasha blushed at the mention of his kindness. Kagome turned to him and mouthed a thank you before turning back to the commander.

"You said that they were with "other high ranking officers," right? What is your rank here?" Kagome asked him.

"Well, I guess you could say I run this whole thing. I have direct control over all of the operatives that we put in the field. I myself was one for 30 years before I was promoted to this position. There are people that I would consider my equals, but they handle finances, technology, or other such things." Arihiro explained. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. She was currently in the office of the man that ran the whole show.

"What makes me so special?" Kagome pried.

"Well, in part, it's because of your family history. I got this position because your father died. He was the one originally slated to have it and was a close personal friend of mine. The least I can do is meet with his daughter. However, the main reason is because you are the most qualified to lead the squad that will be taking out Naraku. We've been scouting you out for longer than you realize. Your mother wanted to wait to induct you into The Pack until after high school, but plans have been accelerated by a tiny bit with our current situation." Arihiro told her. Kagome nodded taking in the information. She was surprised that she was considered the most qualified out of all of her friends. Sango seemed like she would be much better at this since she was an MMA fighter, but she wasn't going to complain about being complimented.

After a few more questions, Kagome's curiosity had been satisfied and she allowed Arihiro to begin his explanation of what would be happening to her in the upcoming months.

"Okay Kagome, you need to listen to me closely. All of this is extremely important. Your life from here on out will not be an easy one. I hope you understand that because it's too late to turn back." Arihiro began. Kagome nodded that she understood and was willing to take whatever was to come. Arihiro smiled and continued, "Good. First, you must understand the code of The Pack. Our utmost value, as you know, is love and loyalty. We take care of our own, even at the cost of our own lives. Any member of the pack would die at a moment's notice for another member. In that way, we are like a family. Next, we take the prowess of our agents very seriously. Normally, our operatives are trained for at least a year before they are sent on even the most basic mission. We have made an exception for you due to the unique circumstances of your situation. Don't worry about your preparation. You will be fine. We will make sure that your training is intense over your "foreign exchange" program. You will be on par with any other of our trained agents after this. During your training, you will mostly be away from home, though you will be allowed to return at a few specific points and your mother will also be given the power to visit you at her leisure. For the most part, you will be at our specialized training location under the direct tutelage of Inuyasha, Miroku, and their fellow squad members Sesshomaru and Koga. Next, as a Pack, we have laws and a rich history. You will find a copy of both in your dorm at the training location. These laws must be obeyed at all times. We also take our history very seriously. The book you receive on it details everything of any importance that has ever happened to this organization. This includes every significant hit, event, and mistake. A great many things can be learned from simply being familiar with our history. After about a semester long of training, you will return to school as though your program has ended. However, that is when your mission will begin. You will use your new skills to infiltrate Naraku's gang. From there, you will find out everything you can and once we feel that we are in the perfect position, you will be the one to pull the trigger and end his worthless life." Arihiro explained as Kagome sat quietly trying to understand it all. She noticed Inuyasha wince as Arihiro talked about the mistakes being detailed in the histories. It was obvious that one of his was included. Arihiro looked on as Kagome processed all of this information and smiled.

"Do you understand all of this?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Kagome said hesitantly, "Just one question."

"What is it?" Arihiro asked, curious.

"When you say "infiltrate Naraku's gang" what do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Well that is completely up to you." Arihiro answered, "You can do it yourself and enter in through his drug running or sex trade, since that is where most of his recruits start. Another option is to get an informant on the inside through blackmail, bribery, or some other means. All that matters is that we get the information so that we can kill him." Kagome nodded.

"Alright. I think I'm good." She said. Arihiro smiled his signature broad smile.

"Wonderful. You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. I can say for a fact that your father would be proud of you and I know your mother is as well. Now, I believe that it's time for you to meet back up with your friends. I'll have Kazumi lead you to where they are waiting for you. For now though, I am sorry to say, we must part ways." Arihiro said, standing up and motioning for the rest of them to do the same, "Farewell my friends." They all bowed slightly to each other and said their goodbyes.

Inuyasha led the way to the door when Arihiro remembered one last thing he had to do.

"Kagome, before you leave," He called out after causing her to turn around to face him, "I have one last thing for you." Arihiro reached into his desk and pulled out a small, ornate wooden box and handed it to her. Kagome thanked him and, in her curiosity, undid metal latches and opened the box. Inside, there were two pistols with Kagome's name engraved beautifully on the barrel of each. Kagome looked up at Arihiro and smiled.

"Another gift from the Pack, I'm guessing." She said. Arihiro chuckled.

"In a way. They were your father's." He told her. Kagome's breath caught in her throat as she stared down at the weapons. Arihiro continued, "They are M1911s, your father's favorite pistol. He kept those two on him for every mission for luck. He liked having your name on them because he felt like it kept him safe. I can't argue with that. The only mission that he didn't take them on after your birth was the one he got killed carrying out. It is only right that they should go to you now." Kagome heard every word that Arihiro had said, but she was too caught up in memorizing every detail of something that belonged to her father to make any sort of reply. Instead, after a few moments, she closed the box and tucked it under her arm. She nodded to Arihiro and walked out the door to be led to her friends. Arihiro chuckled slightly, turning back to the window that he always stared out of when he was thinking.

"That girl is just like her father." He muttered to himself, "Now let's just hope that she's every bit as good as he was."


	6. Sit Puppy!

**Hey guys! Hope that you guys are enjoying the story. I've gotten some really nice reviews and just wanted to thank you guys for that. You all are the best! Hope you keep reading and, hopefully, keep enjoying the story. This chapter is a little shorter than normal, but that's because the main focus of it is something that I find really hard to write. Would love some feedback from you guys to see how it turned out and how I can make it better!**

**Anyways... On to the story!**

Chapter 6: Sit Puppy!

Kazumi the attendant led Kagome, her mother, and Inuyasha back to the elevator. The room that Sango and the others would be waiting in was on the 14th floor. However, when the elevator arrived at that floor, only Kazumi and Kagome got off. Her mother and Inuyasha insisted that they had other things to do and that she could use the time alone with her friends. Kagome was thankful for this and bid them farewell as the elevator doors shut. Then Kazumi led her down the hallway very similar to the one that had been on the 30th floor and made a right. At the end of this hallway, there was a large room filled with sofas, chairs, refrigerators, a massive flat screen tv, and other assorted things. Most importantly, though, the room was filled with her friends that were, presumably, waiting for her. Ayame was sprawled out on a couch watching a soccer game on tv, Rin was flipping through a magazine, and Sango was busy doing something on her phone. Kagome said that she was gonna be fine now and sent Kazumi on her way before walking casually into the room.

"Soooo," She said loudly, making everyone turn their heads towards her, "How's everyone's day been?"

"KAGOME!" They all yelled in unison as they ran to hug her. Kagome was squished in between the three girls and could barely breath. Just she thought that her body was going to collapse under the pressure of their embrace, they finally let go allowing Kagome to take a much needed breath.

"Hey girl!" Sango said happily, "I'd say our day has been alright. Pretty normal to say the least."

"Oh yeah." Ayame agreed sarcastically, "Woke up this morning as an assassin and come in here today to find out that we're going after one of the most powerful men in the world."

"And we're being shipped off to some super secret training facility." Rin added. Kagome chuckled.

"Sounds perfectly normal to me." She joked, making the other girls burst into laughter. Once this had died down, they all settled into the various couches that were arrayed in front of the tv.

"Hey Kagome," Sango called out, "What kind of car did they give you?"

"A Bentley Continental GT. Did you guys get one too?" She asked.

"Hell yeah we did!" Ayame rejoiced, "I got a Porsche 911 GT, Sango got a BMW M5, and Rin got an Aston Martin Rapide S."

"Damn!" Kagome shouted in surprise, "All modified?" The girls nodded excitedly. Each one of those cars was an extremely fast, well equipped armory. The conversation carried on like this for about another hour. They discussed all of what they had learned the previous night and that morning. Apparently, the top secret training facility was in the United States. Ayame's guide, Koga, had accidently let that one slip. Sesshomaru, Rin's guide, had hinted that the training was going to be extremely difficult. There was going to be a lot of physical training, weapons training, stealth and strategy classes, and then academics. Sleep sounded like it was going to come easily every night and free time was going to be a precious commodity. Kagome wasn't sure why, but she felt excited for it. It felt like it was going to be fun even though she knew that it was going to be crazy hard. At that point, though, it really didn't matter. Like Arihiro, or rather Commander Arihiro as she now had to call him, had said, it was too late to turn back now.

The conversation tapered off after a while and the girls decided head home. They walked out into the parking deck together. Unknowingly, they had all received parking spots right next to each other. They guessed that it was because they were a squad now. The girls got into their new cars and drove off towards their homes. Kagome arrived at her own home after suffering through some terrible traffic. It was only to be expected in Tokyo and it was one thing that Kagome was glad that she was going to be able to get away from. She parked the car in the driveway and walked up to the door to find it unlocked.

"Hey mom, I'm home." She called out as she shut and locked the door behind her.

"Oh good. We're in here Kagome." Her mother called from the living room. Kagome followed her voice and found Inuyasha and her mother throwing knives at a dartboard.

"So this is what you meant by "important things to do" huh?" Kagome asked sarcastically. Her mother chuckled.

"Not quite dear. I had to come home to finish the laundry, fix my M4, and start dinner. This is just something to do while it cooks." She explained. Kagome rolled her eyes. That was a perfectly normal combination of things for a mother to do when she got home.

"Does this bother you hon?" Her mother asked innocently, "Your father and I used to pass the time doing this all the time."

"Yeah and it shows. She's better than I am at this." Inuyasha grumbled. Kagome shook her head.

"No it doesn't bother me. It's just going to take some time to get used to, is all." She told her. Her mother smiled warmly.

"I can understand that dear." She said before flicking another blade into the exact center of the board. Inuyasha groaned loudly.

"Come now Pup. Don't be such a sore loser." She joked. Inuyasha grimaced at the nickname.

"Pup?" Kagome asked confused. Inuyasha shot her mother a glare before turning to Kagome.

"It's what your mom has taken to calling me." He said, annoyed. Her mother laughed.

"What? Doesn't he look kind of like a puppy?" She insisted. Kagome couldn't see it, but she wasn't going to argue. It was too funny. Inuyasha threw one of his knives into the board and scowled when it landed half an inch to the left of Kagome's mother's knife.

"Hey Kagome. You wanna replace your mother? She's too good at this." He complained. Kagome giggled.

"Not a chance Puppy." She joked before hurrying upstairs. The loud groan that followed had Kagome trying her best not to bust out laughing and failing miserably.

Once in her room, she put the box containing her father's pistols down, opened it, and took one out. She sat down on her king sized bed to check it out. From what little Kagome knew of weapons, she knew that the M1911 was a pretty popular pistol, especially for military people. She also knew that it was an American one. Beyond that she really didn't know much. The guns were as much a mystery to her as her own father was. She thought that she had known him so well when she was younger. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. The truth, that now seemed so obvious to her, had been hidden masterfully from her for the entire 18 years that she had been alive. Apparently they had done it for her own good, but that didn't make her feel any better.

Kagome was so wrapped up in these thoughts, that she didn't hear the footsteps coming up the stairs. She also didn't hear her doorknob turning, the door opening, or the door closing.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha's voice nearly made her jump out of her own skin with yelp of surprise.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" Inuyasha yelled as Kagome fumbled with the gun in her hand, "Be careful with that thing!"

"Well then don't sneak up on me!" Kagome shot back, putting the gun on the bed.

"It's not like I tried to. My entrance wasn't exactly quiet!" Inuyasha retorted.

"Whatever... Hmph! Sit Puppy!" She commanded.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, confused. Kagome rolled her eyes and then smiled mischievously.

"Sit." She commanded again, laying down on her bed while leaving room for him.

"I ain't a damn dog Kagome!" Inuyasha insisted. She giggled at this.

"Nope. You're my Puppy." She said matter-of-factly.

"Your puppy?" Inuyasha asked incredulously, "You've gotta be kidding me." Kagome shook her head.

"Not in the slightest. Now sit." She said yet again, patting the area beside her. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but complied.

"There. You happy?" He said, irritation evident. Kagome nodded.

"Yup. Good boy. Now lie down." She said, switching the command.

"Are you serious woman?" Inuyasha demanded. Kagome pouted cutely.

"Come on Puppy. Just lie down." She pleaded jokingly.

"So you really want me to "lie with you" is what you're saying?" Inuyasha asked, thinking that it was his turn to put her into an awkward situation. Instead, she flashed another mischievous smile and nodded. Inuyasha blushed and, for lack of a better option, laid down next to her on the bed.

"Good boy." She said, snuggling up next to him and rubbing where dog ears would be on his head if he had them. Inuyasha's blush deepened.

"You know this is incredibly against code." He pointed out nervously. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"And I'm sure that's never stopped you before." She said. Inuyasha didn't want to admit it, but she was right, so he shut up. Kagome sighed, "I just don't really want to be alone right now and I wanted to spend some time with you." That wasn't what he had expected her to say.

"What's on your mind?" He asked, concerned.

"A lot of stuff. Too much, really. So much that I don't really want to think about it." She told him. Inuyasha nodded. That was one feeling that he could understand. His own history had left him with enough stuff to avoid thinking about.

"What I do want to know," Kagome continued, "is about you." Inuyasha raised his eyebrows.

"What? Why would you want to know about me?" He asked.

"Well, you're kinda mysterious. I thought I was gonna find out a little about you from that art project, but I guess we're gonna get out of that." Kagome said. Inuyasha nodded.

"Especially since Kaede only assigned it to allow me to learn a little bit more about you." He told her. That's what Kagome had figured after all of this. With Kaede being an officer, it made sense for her to assign something like that where she and Inuyasha were forced to be partners. Inuyasha kept talking after a moment, "So I'm "mysterious" huh?" Kagome giggled.

"Just a little bit. I only know what you've told me. That isn't much and it may not even be true" She pointed out. Inuyasha sighed.

"Yeah I guess you're right." He conceded, "Well, what I said about my parents was true. I never met my dad and my mother died when I was seven."

"I'm so sorry." Kagome said, able to understand how it felt to lose a parent. Inuyasha shrugged.

"Not your fault." He said, "The Pack took me and my half brother Sesshomaru in after they died. They became our family."

"You have a half brother?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha nodded.

"My dad married one woman and had Sesshomaru. Then, when she died, he remarried a couple years later and they had me." He explained, "We act like we hate each other, but we are still family, by blood and by Pack."

"I wonder what my mom will do about Souta." Kagome wondered aloud. Inuyasha shrugged.

"My guess is that she'll induct him after you've finished your mission, but I don't know. It's up to her, but that's what I would do." He said. Kagome nodded.

"So how's life been since then?" She asked.

"Not bad. The Pack has taken good care of us. I've even managed to make a few friends on my squad, which is Sesshomaru, Miroku, Koga, and I." Inuyasha said, "Plus the pay and the benefits are pretty good too." Kagome chuckled. She could see that much was true.

"Any major screw ups on a mission?" She asked, thinking back to how Inuyasha had reacted in the meeting when Arihiro had mentioned that they were all recorded in the histories.

"Pffft. Not a chance." He said, cockily, "I'm one of the best the agency has got." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Obviously not at knife throwing." She jabbed.

"Hey that's not my specialty. I'm a gun expert." He insisted.

"Whatever. Any crazy romances or girlfriends for the blond haired assassin?" Kagome asked, hoping the answer would be no. She saw Inuyasha wince like he had in the meeting and his face became serious.

"You could say that." He said softly, regret shining in his eyes. Kagome's curiosity got the better of her.

"What happened?" She asked. Inuyasha sighed heavily.

"Not something I like to talk about alright. They're bad memories." He told her. Kagome nodded and consented to his desire. After a few moments of silence, Kagome broke it.

"So how long have you been working at this?" She asked, changing the topic.

"They took me and Sesshomaru in when I was eight. We didn't have any family ties, so they found us on the street. After that, we trained until I was about 15. That's when we started doing missions together." He explained, grateful for the new subject.

"That's a long time." Kagome commented, surprised at how long he had been with The Pack. Inuyasha chuckled.

"I guess. It's all I know, so don't really think of it as having been all that long." He told her. Kagome nodded and paused.

"Does it ever get easier?" She asked, "Killing people, I mean." Inuyasha gave her a confused look.

"Kagome the only people we kill are the ones that deserve to die." He said.

"Yeah I know that, but that doesn't mean that it feels good does it?" She said.

"I've always thought about it like I'm helping people. It's dangerous to think about it any other way. That gets you killed. If you think about it my way, then it kinda does feel good." He admitted. Kagome nodded, accepting his answer.

The two of them talked for hours. Their topics ranged from everything to nothing and anything in between. It was well into the night when Kagome started to get very tired. She didn't want to fall asleep. What she really wanted to do was to stay up and keep talking to Inuyasha. However, eventually sleep got the best of her. She yawned loudly making Inuyasha chuckle since he was tired too.

"Night Kagome." He said softly. Kagome smiled with her eyes closed and her body snuggled up against his.

"Night Puppy." She said sleepily. Inuyasha pulled her closer to him and let her sleep. He knew that he would probably kick himself later for allowing himself to get this close to her, but he couldn't help himself. Kagome made him feel good. She made him feel whole again, whereas he had felt so empty for the longest time. With her, he had hope that his life wouldn't be so lonely after all. In such a short time, he had grown to love the girl laying beside him. It was the second time he had allowed himself to fall in love. The first time had nearly destroyed him. He was determined not to let this time go so wrong. With that thought, he slowly drifted off to sleep with her.

**Yup, tried to do a romance build up chapter. Not sure how well it worked out. I personally find them very hard to write, so I want to hear your thoughts. PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading guys! Hope you keep reading! And worry not, next chapter will be on the beginning of their training, so that should promise some more action and possibly some electricity between the girls and their trainers... but you probably already figured that.**


	7. We're Not in Tokyo Anymore

**AHHHH! I am SO SO SO sorry about how late this update is! Life got super super busy and I just didn't have time to write! I mean, I sat down to write this at least six times and only had like tens minutes every time. And since there were days in between each time, a lot of this is probably disjointed and crappy... I hope not, though. There's probably a bit more cursing than usual as well due to my frustration with my schedule... I tried to keep as much flow as possible. All I can do is wait for your reviews... That is, if anyone is still willing to read after such a long wait... Anyway, I promise that I will do my best to never make you guys wait this long again! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you think!**

**Now enough waiting and on to the story!**

Chapter 7: We're Not in Tokyo Anymore

Kagome awoke the next day, not from the annoying sound of her alarm clock or the brightness of the sun's rays, but from the extremely uncomfortable way that her back was positioned. Without opening her eyes, she rubbed her back in order to try and massage out the pain. It didn't work. As the pain slowly roused her from her sleep, she realized something very unnerving. She wasn't in her bed. She wasn't even in a bed at all. Instead, she was curled up on a leather seat that had been reclined back. It was all very confusing. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep next to Inuyasha on her bed and now she had no idea where she was and Inuyasha was nowhere to be found. Eventually, her curiosity won out over her nerves and she looked around. There was a row of seat like hers in front of her and behind her. Another row of them was across from her. Each seat had a wooden table beside it that was screwed into the floor. Three other seats were reclined as hers was, but the occupants had obviously already left. She also noticed a wooden door that blocked off the long, narrow room that she currently occupied from what was presumably another room. Suddenly, a familiar male voice filtered into her ears from behind the door.

"You think she's awake yet?" Miroku's voice asked. A voice that Kagome didn't recognize answered him.

"Pfft. Probably not considering that Inuyasha kept her up all night." The new voice jested, drawing laughter from a few others. Kagome, however, did not laugh. Her breath was caught in her throat. That man knew Inuyasha and Miroku was with him. Obviously that meant that Inuyasha was okay, but all that made Kagome do was wonder why she was here and not at her house with him. After the laughter had calmed down, another voice that Kagome hadn't expected to hear spoke up.

"She was sleeping like a baby when we left." Sango's voice said, "I could go check on her if you want." So Sango was here too. She wasn't afraid, but that was because she knew what was going on at the moment. Kagome did not and still felt the pangs of fear and uncertainty running through her.

After a few more moments of inner debate and listening to Miroku, her friends, and two other men talk, she decided to get up and walk through the door to tell them that she was, indeed, awake. However, as soon as she stood up from the reclined chair, the floor beneath her shook violently and she fell to the floor. Her yelp of surprise and loud crash as she landed were enough to alert the people in the other room to her presence. They burst through the door and her friends immediately came to her side.

"Kagome are you alright?" Ayame asked, concern filling her voice.

"Yeah, I think so." She told her, rubbing her hip where she had landed on it, "I just lost my footing when the ground shook." Rin smiled.

"Don't worry Kagome, that was just some turbulence." She assured her. However, Kagome did not feel assured. She felt confused.

"Turbulence?" She asked. Before anyone could answer, the door at the other end of the room opened and the familiar figure of Inuyasha walked through.

"Yeah Kagome. Turbulence tends to happen when you're on a plane." He said, smiling knowingly.

"Plane?!" She demanded, "How the fuck did we get on a plane?!" Inuyasha smirked, slighly surprised by her use of language.

"Isn't it obvious? I carried you." He said smugly.

"Well you could have at least woken me up!" Kagome shot back.

"But that would have ruined the fun of it!" He pouted jokingly, trying to look innocent, "Besides, it's tradition." The girls and guys around her started to laugh along with Inuyasha. All this served to do was make Kagome even more frustrated.

"It's not funny guys!" She insisted, standing up. Ayame, ceasing her laughter, put a hand on Kagome's shoulder who turned around to face her.

"It's not like they didn't do it to us too Kagome." She told her, "We just woke up about an hour ago while you were still sound asleep."

"Yeah. What she's saying is true." Sango agreed, "Plus, you gotta admit. It is kinda funny." Kagome crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the girls causing the laugh once again. She heard someone sigh behind her and felt someone's arm draped across her shoulders.

"C'mon Kagome." Inuyasha said, squeezing her body lightly against his. Kagome's heart fluttered at the gesture, but then she remembered that she was still mad, "Let's go get you some food."

"Hmph! Fine, but you better explain all of this." Kagome commanded before allowing herself to be led into the other room.

Kagome was treated to breakfast cooked by the guys on the luxury jet. It would have been delicious, if not for the fact that she was irritated beyond belief. She just couldn't believe that she had been kidnapped from her own home while she was asleep. In protest of the situation, she didn't let on a single hint of the fact that she found the food amazing, which seemed to disappoint them greatly. After she finished the meal, Inuyasha led her back to the room that he had been in while Kagome had been asleep. It looked a lot like a private study. There were a few reclining chairs around the room along with some tables and two large desks. One desk held a very advanced looking computer, while the other was covered in papers and books that looked random in placement, but likely had some purpose behind them. Inuyasha motioned for her to sit at one end of a small round table while he sat at the other.

"So," He said as Kagome got comfortable in the chair, "What did you want me to explain first?" Kagome narrowed her eyes at him because she thought that this, of all questions, would a self explanatory one.

"Why did you kidnap me from my own house while I was asleep." She demanded. Inuyasha smiled warmly. It almost made Kagome forget that she was mad at him.

"Well, I wouldn't call it kidnapping-" He began, a knowing smile plastered across his face.

"What would you call it then?" She interrupted, though Inuyasha remained unfazed.

"Your mother gave us the permission because she knows the importance of why we do it." He explained. Kagome's jaw dropped. Her mother had betrayed her.

"What did you say?" She asked incredulously. Inuyasha chuckled at her surprise.

"Yeah, your mother has always been a big supporter of it. Not only does she think it's hilarious, just like the rest of us, she knows that it removes the possibility of any last minute decisions to opt out. It also allows us to see how you react when put into a situation that is completely unfamiliar and unexpected. You did just fine by the way, in case you were wondering. We like the defiant and suspicious attitude, but you can drop it now. You're safe." Inuyasha explained. Kagome narrowed her eyes in irritation, but didn't say anything, so Inuyasha kept talking, "This also provides us with a base to work from on your decision making. So far you are doing well, but you definitely need to move quicker in these kinds of situations. You spent too much time looking around and being scared. We'll train you to overcome that and be able to get on your feet faster." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't scared you know." She insisted, drawing a smirk from Inuyasha, "I wasn't! I'm just not used to this stuff, though I'm guessing that will probably change."

"Oh you have no idea." Inuyasha hinted. Then he paused for a second and smiled warmly at her, "You know, you're cute when you get defensive." Kagome blushed lightly, the flutter returning to her heart.

"I'm cute all the time." She shot back in an attempt to stay mad at him.

"Can't argue with that." He agreed standing up and walking to the door. Kagome didn't follow immediately. She didn't really know what to do. First this guy had slept in her bed, then he had kidnapped her, and now he was hitting on her. This whole assassins thing was turning out to be quite the roller coaster ride, especially with the beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed killer that always took her breath away.

Kagome shook these thoughts from her mind and got up to follow Inuyasha into the room where Her friends and the other assassins were. They were all sitting on a very large, semi-circular couch that faced a massive television. Ironically, the movie that was playing was Wanted. Kagome laughed at how applicable the movie was to her own situation. They looked over at them as they entered the room.

"Well that didn't take very long." Miroku commented with a twinkle in his eye, "You work quick Inuyasha, you dog you." Inuyasha grimaced while Kagome blushed a deep shade of red. Before anyone knew what had happened, Sango's fist connected with the back of Miroku's head.

"Fucking pervert." She growled. This drew laughter from everyone else, even the extremely embarrassed Kagome, as she and Inuyasha joined the others on the couch. Miroku, however, was clearly in pain from the blow of the trained MMA fighter.

"Damn girl! You hit hard!" A man in a brown leather jacket with slightly shaggy black hair commented.

"Well Koga, we did tell you that she's been training for years and is an amazing fighter." Ayame, who was sitting next to him, pointed out.

"Yeah well now I believe you." The man identified as Koga said, causing Ayame to chuckle. The other guy that Kagome didn't know cleared his throat.

"Calm down guys. We'll be arriving in a few minutes. I guess 'where' isn't exactly a surprise since Koga dropped the ball on that one, but let's at least be ready to move out. We've got a busy day ahead of us." He told everyone. Inuyasha snorted.

"Shut up Sesshomaru! We'll be fine." Inuyasha assured him, "Koga did drop the ball, but I'm pretty sure that these girls will be fine." Koga grumbled at the insults directed his way, but he didn't say anything to defend himself.

"Hmph! Whatever." Sesshomaru said dismissively as he stood up from the couch, "Just make sure they're ready." With that, he walked forward and went into the pilot's cabin.

"Damn Inuyasha. Your brother is a dick." Ayame commented.

"Half-brother." Inuyasha immediately corrected, "No way that bastard comes from my mother." Kagome's eyes widened in surprise.

"That guy is your half-brother?" She asked.

"Unfortunately." He sighed, "He hates me and I hate him right back." Kagome immediately felt sorry for him and was about to try to talk to him about it when Miroku chuckled.

"They don't actually hate each other. It's some sort of sibling rivalry or something. In reality, they watch each other's backs and take care of each other. After all, they are family, in more ways than one." He explained. Inuyasha scowled.

"Fuck you Miroku." He growled. Miroku smiled and raised his hands in surrender.

"Don't shoot the messenger bro. I'm just trying to tell the girl what's what." He said laughing. Before Inuyasha could make his retort, Sesshomaru's voice sounded out over the PA.

"Stop fucking around and get your shit together. We'll be landing in five minutes." His voice said before the system clicked off. The teenagers in the room took the hint and gathered their things. Kagome and her friends were led to where their bags were. Apparently, the guys had done their packing for them and thus they only had the bare necessities. This consisted of a few sets of their own clothing, many sets of the standard issue black clothing issued to all Pack members, two pistols (for Kagome, the two M1911s from her father), two knives (a K-Bar straight blade and a pocket knife), and deodorant. All of it fit into a backpack and was fairly light. The girls grimaced at how little they had, but figured that it was better than nothing which was what they had expected.

The five minutes that Sesshomaru had talked about past quickly and, right on schedule, the luxury jet landed on an air strip in the middle of nowhere. Miroku opened the door and allowed the girls to exit first. The sun was out and the weather was warm, but it was obvious that summer was on its way out. The air was humid, but not oppressively so while there was a light breeze blowing from the West. All-in-all, the weather was quite comfortable. Kagome felt as though she should have been surprised by what she saw, but she didn't see anything to be surprised about. There was nothing around. The airstrip was simply a long line of asphalt in the middle of some dense forest. Five black jeeps, four empty and one filled with four Pack members armed to the teeth, waited next to the plane on the strip and a winding dirt path cut out from the trees was easily visible.

"Today would be a good time to move, girls." Koga commented dryly. All of the girls shot him a look while the guys stifled laughter.

"Fuck off." Sango shot back before leading the rest of the girls down the steps to the asphalt. Miroku playfully punched Koga in the arm before Inuyasha took the lead followed by Sesshomaru down the steps.

The guys took the lead once they had all gotten onto the airstrip. Miroku led Sango to one of the jeeps, Koga led Ayame to another, Sesshomaru led Rin to a third, and Inuyasha took the driver's seat of the last with Kagome as his passenger. The driver of the fifth vehicle looked over and smirked at the others.

"Race back to the compound!" The girl called out in English, getting a head start on starting up her car, while her comrades laughed. Kagome was suddenly glad that all of them had been forced by their parents to take English as children. Of course, now that she thought about it, they had probably planned that little detail of their lives.

"Dammit Kara!" Inuyasha yelled back, racing to start his own jeep, "You need to stop pulling this shit!" The girl threw back her head and laughed as she wheeled the car around.

"Shut up and stop being a sore loser Inu! You just don't like getting beat by a girl!" She called back with a wink, that for some reason made Kagome very jealous, as she peeled off sending dust flying into the air. Inuyasha growled in response and wheeled his jeep around and tried desperately to catch up, followed closely by the other three. Kagome had never been more terrified in her life. The dirt road was winding and had several tight curves. There were several times when Kagome was sure that the jeep was going to flip. However, Inuyasha seemed to be a professional driver. He took the car around tight corners at a good 70 miles an hour like he was a rally car driver. The girl named Kara was no match for this kind of skill, even with her head start. With the concrete compound coming into sight, Inuyasha overtook her, shouting in victory. Kagome couldn't help but laugh. She was witnessing world class assassins that had ended countless lives acting like carefree teenagers. It was strangely hilarious to her.

Inuyasha sped through the guarded concrete gate to the cheers of some Pack members that had come out to watch the finish. They had obviously been expecting this to happen. Inuyasha skidded to a stop, perfectly parked in between two white lines in what appeared to be a parking lot. He was followed by Kara, Miroku, Sesshomaru, and Koga in that order. Kara stormed out of her car as Inuyasha hopped out of his laughing hysterically.

"What was that about getting beat by a girl?" Inuyasha called out jokingly. Kara was not amused.

"You only won because I had twice as many people in mine with twice the equipment and you know it!" She retorted. The guys that had been in her car bust out laughing.

"Don't blame us for your shitty driving, Kara!" One of the guys yelled in between laughs. Kara growled in response before storming through the open huge steel double doors that were awaiting them. Everyone else got out of the vehicles to stand in the parking lot. All of the veteran Pack members were laughing at the turn of events, while the girls stood around, just a bit confused. Miroku came over and high fived his victorious friend before noticing this on Kagome's face. He smiled broadly.

"I can see you girls are a bit lost." He commented, returning to Japanese.

"Only a little bit." Kagome admitted.

"Kara and Inuyasha are basically siblings. They trained together for years and was even in Inuyasha's unit until she got reassigned a little over a year ago." Miroku explained, "Only problem is that these two siblings have a bit of a sibling rivalry. Hell, it's worse than the one between him and Sesshomaru. They're just a little nicer about it when they're around each other." Kagome nodded and looked at Inuyasha who was still laughing.

"I always win." The blonde haired man said confidently, "Always." Sesshomaru snorted.

"Hardly, little brother." He interjected, "I seem to remember you getting wrecked the last time you two went at it." Inuyasha's face went red.

"It was knife throwing! I'm a gun expert dammit! How many times do I have to say that?!" He yelled. Kagome chuckled at the outburst along with everyone else in the parking lot. Koga was the first to regain his composure.

"Alright everybody," He called out in English so everyone could easily understand, "Let's get inside. We've gotta get the pups situated." Everyone agreed as the Inuyasha and the other three guys from Rumiko High grabbed the girls' things.

"Pups?" Rin asked, confused.

"You mean us?" Ayame followed. Koga smiled at her.

"It's a bit of a joke. We're the Pack, so we call new members pups. You might want to get used to the title. You're gonna have it for awhile." He explained. The girls sighed at the prospect, but eventually followed the veterans through the same steel doors that Kara had stormed through.

"Well I guess we're not in Tokyo anymore." Sango commented dryly as she surveyed the rather bland hallway and the people that walked through it. Inuyasha chuckled.

"Not quite. Welcome to Virginia! Pride of the American South!" He joked. The girls looked at each other before shrugging and following the guys further into the compound.

**Once again, I'm SORRY! Please forgive me and PLEASE REVIEW! The next chapters are definitely going to be romance heavy. I'm going to focus on their training and how the guys get them through it. Also... Kikyo and Inuyasha back story coming up soon!**


	8. Orientation in the USA

**Longest chapter I've written so far for any story ever. That being said, it's mostly dialogue and Kagome trying to piece things together. Fun stuff and I hope you guys find it as interesting as I found it frustrating to write. Also, it took me so long to write that I didn't have time to edit it at all... Not that I've edited any of my other chapters, but normally I read them over to see if they're decent before I post them. This time not so much... So I'll let you guys tell me!**

**Now onward!**

Chapter 8: Orientation in the USA

Inuyasha led everyone down the hallway. They passed several rooms and places where they could turn onto a new path, but Inuyasha ignored them all. It wasn't long though before they reached their destination. There looked to be a commons area situated at the end of this particular hallway. It had windows leading out to what appeared to be a very large and very green courtyard. Kagome could see people outside running, doing drills, or simply playing sports. Inside the room, there were a few couches, chairs, and tables spread around. Everything seemed to have a standard color. The couches were a navy blue, the chairs and tables were made out of a light colored wood, and the walls and floor were a soft white. Kagome was also impressed that everything was spotless. If she didn't know better, she would think that no one had ever stepped foot in the room before. However, that was proved wrong by the fact that there were a few people inside the commons gathered around a table talking. Inuyasha, after searching the room, eventually found the long blonde haired form of Kara sitting on a couch alone. She seemed to have forgotten her recent loss and smiled brightly at him and the rest of the group, causing her beautiful blue eyes to sparkle, and motioned for them to join her. Luckily, there was just enough seating where she was to accommodate all nine people.

"So," Kara began in English once everyone had sat down and the guys set down the girls' luggage, "welcome to America."

"Thanks." Kagome said, hesitantly. She was good at English, but it still didn't feel comfortable on her tongue, "Do you speak Japanese by any chance?" Kara smiled.

"I do. Fluently, in fact. It's a requirement for all Pack members since our headquarters is in Tokyo. However, it's also required that you be completely fluent in English. Since we don't have much time, you're basically going to get an immersion crash course." She explained before smiling even wider and chuckling, "I hope you paid attention in school girls. Or else these next few months might be even more difficult for you." The girls grimaced, but nodded. Inuyasha saw this and laughed.

"C'mon Kara! Don't scare the girls!" He joked lightheartedly. Kara rolled her eyes, but her smile stayed intact.

"I think that'll be pretty much unavoidable once I tell them what they're going to be doing for training." She said, mischief coming to her eyes, "Plus, I think your face scares them enough. The thing is hideous." Inuyasha scowled, while everyone else stifled a laugh.

"Aren't we a little old for 'your face' jokes?" He chastised.

"Nope." Kara said simply. Sesshomaru cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Maybe we should get back to the task at hand." He said flatly, "Just a suggestion." Kara pouted cutely.

"Aww Sesshy. You're no fun." She whined. Sesshomaru's lit up with anger at the sound of the nickname while his face drew into a scowl.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." He said menacingly. Kara smirked.

"And I thought I told you to stop being a dick." She retorted drawing snickers from the guys, "But you're right. They do need to know what they'll be up to for awhile."

"Thank you." Sesshomaru said through gritted teeth. Kara shot him a look before turning to the girls.

"Alright." She said, her smile suddenly returning to her face, "We'll start with who's going to be training you. I believe each of you know your handlers. Sango, you'll be with Miroku. Ayame, you'll be with Koga. Rin, you'll be with that ass Sesshomaru over there. And Kagome, you'll be with Inuyasha. I think you'll both be happy with that one." Both Kagome and Inuyasha's faces took on a distinctly reddish tint at this comment, which was not lost on Kara. Honestly, it worried her considering the past of the man she considered her brother, but she didn't let that show. Instead she chose continue and explain room assignments.

"Moving on. Now you gotta know who you're going to be rooming with every night. Ayame, you got lucky. A single room just opened up, so you don't have to have a roommate. Trust me, that's going to be good thing. It'll let you get your rest. Sango, you'll be rooming with Rin in the room next door." Kara told them before turning to Kagome who was patiently awaiting to hear where she would be sleeping. Kara smiled. She had specially requested this so that she could get scope out the future squad leader that would take out Naraku for herself. Plus, so she could keep tabs on the girl that seemed to have Inuyasha wrapped around her finger after only a few days. This was going to be interesting.

"Kagome, you'll be rooming with me." Everyone's eyes widened in surprise making Kara chuckle to herself. None of the guys said anything even though they knew how unusual this was, but Inuyasha did give her a glare. He obviously knew what Kara was trying to do and he didn't like it. Kagome, on the other hand, had no idea about Kara's motives or even that this was out of the ordinary.

"Okay." The girl said casually after adjusting to the initial shock, accepting the situation as normal, "So what else do you need to tell us?" Kara liked the girl already.

"Glad you asked. This, essentially, is what you could call your orientation. Basically just a formality, but Commander Arihiro insists on it. Starting tomorrow, your physical training starts full swing. We'll have to ease you into learning about what we do, but we'll also start up your school academics tomorrow as well. Don't worry, we'll have you ready for exams." She joked.

"What are we going to be doing in physical training?" Sango asked, actually excited for that part. Kara chuckled.

"It'll be a lot harder than what you do for MMA." She warned, "You're going to be running. A lot. Once you're essentially on the verge of death with that, you'll get a break and then you'll run more. After that, we'll do other assorted things depending on what your handlers and I think is best."

"How are we going to have time to fit school into that?" Rin asked, confused.

"Easy. We'll be waking up at 5:30 in the morning and going to bed around 11:00. Don't think you'll have any free time in that either, at least not for another month and a half." Kara told them. The girls visibly grimaced, but didn't say anything. That impressed Kara, though she wouldn't dare show it, not yet. All of them were ready and willing to go through with this even though they had just recently been thrust into all of it. It was a quality that even people that had grown up with knowledge of the Pack didn't have. Kara smiled softly, "Any other questions?"

"I don't think so." Kagome said after a few moments of silence. Kara nodded.

"Good. Now onto something far more important." She said, getting up and walking over to a nearby table where two thick, leather bound books were stacked. They were old, but well taken care of, as they should have been. Kara considered these books as sacred, just like every other Pack member. She stared at them for another moment before grabbing them and walking back over to the couch to sit down. The girls looked at them curiously, while the veterans gathered around looked at them in the same way Kara did.

"What are those?" Ayame asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Kara looked up at her and smiled at the chance to tell her.

"The most important books you'll ever own." She said simply.

"What do you mean?" Sango pressed. Kara picked up the thinner of the two books, though "thin" was a relative term since the book was still extremely heavy.

"This book contains all of the laws that we abide by as a Pack. We live by them and hold them above all other law. Breaking them has its punishments, but the severest punishment is that we do to ourselves in knowing that we let the Pack down. There aren't as many as there seem to be either. Each law is followed by an in depth explanation as to why it is there, what it is meant to accomplish, the punishments for breaking it, and the purpose behind the punishment." Kara explained before putting it down and picking up the larger one, "This book contains the history of the Pack and not just some of it. These pages contain every known fact about our existence since our inception in 1904, including every major event, mission, and person. It is also referenced by our Law Book if there was a specific event that occurred that inspired the creation of a new law, though new ones don't come about very often."

As Kara said this last part, she saw Inuyasha's eyes darken. Sadness, regret, and anger all appeared on his face. Kara knew why, but refused to think about it. After all, the memory was painful for her too. Inuyasha, however, probably hadn't lived a day since it happened that he hadn't thought about it and punished himself for something that wasn't his fault. His heart still hadn't recovered from the devastation. She felt sorry for him, but she had already done everything she could. All there was to do now was to keep moving on and hope that he would forget it and leave the pain behind.

Kara pushed these thoughts from her mind. She couldn't let the pups figure out that anything was wrong. It wouldn't do for Kagome's handler to be seen as weak. That could compromise training and could very easily compromise the relationship between the two. She nodded, more for her own benefit and reassurance than anything else, before focusing back on the girls gathered around her that were still processing the information.

"So," She began, adopting her smile once more, though this time with less heart behind it, "Everything good?" Each one of the girls nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Good." Kara said as she got up and stretched, "Because I have got a ton of paperwork to fill out because of you guys now." The guys chuckled.

"Stop whining Kara." Inuyasha jabbed.

"Pfft. I'll complain when I want to." Kara joked, turning to the girls, "You'll be led to your rooms by your handlers. If you think of any questions, ask them. They've been here long enough to be able to answer anything you got."

"Hey!" Koga complained, "Don't pass them off to us!" Kara glared at him.

"You want my paperwork?" She asked sarcastically, venom dripping from her words. Koga smirked.

"No I'm good. I'll take my pup's questions instead." He said, chuckling. Kara rolled her eyes.

"Thought so." She sighed before walking out of the room down the hallway that all of them had walked in from. As an afterthought, she turned around and called out to Kagome.

"I'll be back before you go to sleep alright. I wanna talk to you." She yelled to the girl. Kagome nodded. Kara flashed her a smile and waved before continuing on her way down the hall.

Kagome watched her go and turn down another hall. She liked the girl, but knew that she wasn't going to be easy on her during training. That was probably for the best, though. If they were going to take out Naraku Jigoku, then they would need to be good. Kagome tensed as the name passed through her brain. He was the bastard that took her father from her. She was going to kill him and make sure that her father would have been proud of her. Nothing would stop her. It didn't matter if he was the most powerful man in Tokyo and led the most powerful gang. Kagome Higurashi was not one to be fucked with.

"Kagome?" Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise at the sudden sound of a familiar voice calling her name and wrenching her from her thoughts. She turned to see the concerned face of Inuyasha.

"You alright?" He asked. Kagome shook her head trying to gather herself before answering.

"Yeah." She said after a moment, "I'm fine." Inuyasha nodded, but his eyes were still concerned. The fact that he was worried about her warmed her heart for reasons that she still wasn't willing to admit to herself.

"I'm gonna go check on something really quick. I'll be back soon and then I can take you to your room." He told her, "Just wait here until I get back." Kagome nodded and watched him run down the hall. She noted that he turned down the same hallway that Kara had gone down, but the passed it off as unimportant. It had nothing to do with her anyway. Accepting this, she said goodbye to her friends as they left to go to their rooms and sat down again on the sofa to wait for Inuyasha.

After about five minutes, Kagome heard Inuyasha's quick footsteps coming down the hallway and turned to see him jogging into the commons. He had a serious look on his face, but it quickly disappeared when his eyes met Kagome's. Instead, it was replaced by a warm smile that made Kagome smile along with him.

"You ready to go?" He asked.

"I should be asking you the same question." Kagome joked, "I've been ready." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He said dismissively, grabbing Kagome's bag, "Let's go." Kagome laughed, but didn't say anything else. Instead she got up and followed him outside.

The courtyard was much bigger than Kagome had originally thought from looking at it through the window. It was actually huge. At least 3 full sized football fields could have fit in it easily, though 5 was a more likely number. There were people running laps around the courtyard in the standard issue Pack undershirt and what looked to be standard issue running shorts that Kagome remembered seeing packed into her luggage. Others were doing different drills as they were coached by veterans. Still others were sparring in hand to hand or armed combat. Then there was still space for a soccer game and a full tackle football game. The courtyard itself was surrounded by the compound. In total, the compound appeared to be three stories high, though Kagome guessed that there was more to it underground.

Inuyasha led her around the edge of the courtyard. He was greeted by most, if not all, of the people training. It was obvious that, despite his youth, he was respected and seen as a superior to most. Of course, Kagome had gathered that much about everyone in his squad. They seemed to be the elites of the Pack, alphas so to speak. The shear amount of deference that he received was admirable. Suddenly, Inuyasha turned and took one of the many staircases there were that led up to walkways outside the rooms on the upper floors. He went only up to the second floor before continuing to walk. Kagome noticed that each of the rooms that lined this inner portion of the compound were numbered. Ones on the first floor had been numbered in the 100s, while these were in the 200s. Kagome guessed that the third floor would be numbered in the 300s. Inuyasha stopped at room 237 before pulling a key from his pocket. He used to unlock and open the door and then tossed it to Kagome. She flinched in surprise, but still managed to catch the key. Inuyasha smiled.

"Nice catch." He complemented.

"Thanks." She said, smiling broadly. Inuyasha nodded and held the door open for her to enter. She did and thanked him again, surprised at his manners.

The room was sparse. It had two beds with light blue sheets, two closets, a bathroom, and white painted cinder block walls. The right side of the room obviously belonged to Kara. It actually had signs of life on it. The bed was made, albeit badly, and had a few shirts and a knife laying on it. Kara also had a few other things that showed it was her side. On the table, that was standard on both sides, Kara had a notebook, a pen, aviator sunglasses, a pistol, a hair tie, a flashlight, and a hair brush. Except for the blandness of it all and the weapons, it looked like any other teenage girl's room. Kagome's side, however, was completely untouched. The bed was made perfectly and the only things that were on her table were two familiar thick leather bound books.

Kagome heard the door close behind her and turned towards it.. Much to her relief, Inuyasha was still inside. He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything and instead sat her bag by her bed.

"Well." He began, "The beds aren't the most comfortable in the world, but they're decent. Those books are your copies of the books Kara was showing you earlier. Your bag has some standard issue clothes in it and there are more in the closet along with a few other things. The bathroom has just about everything you'll need in there. Be careful with the showers though. The temperature knobs are sensitive, so it's easy to scorch yourself. That's never fun. Other than that, though, I think you should be fine." Kagome nodded taking in the information.

"Where are you staying?" She asked him. Inuyasha pointed upwards.

"Miroku and I are in the room right above this one. Don't worry. The walls are sound proof. Whatever you are Kara gossip about won't reach us." Inuyasha assured her jokingly. Kagome rolled her eyes, but laughed nonetheless.

"Because I'm sure Kara is the biggest gossip in the world." She said sarcastically. Inuyasha gave her a knowing smile.

"You'd be surprised. She can talk your ear off about anything. It's one of her best and worst qualities." He told her. Kagome tried to picture the girl being a gossip. For some reason she couldn't picture the black-clad blonde being a gossip even though her personality did seem to fit that perfectly. Maybe it was the whole assassin thing.

Kagome walked over to her bed and laid down. She patted the area next to her signalling for Inuyasha to do the same. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Are you serious?" He asked, voice sounding annoyed though the emotion didn't reach his eyes. Kagome just smiled in return and patted the area again. Inuyasha sighed heavily, but eventually conceded and laid down on the bed next to her.

"So how long have you known Kara?" Kagome asked once Inuyasha had settled onto the bed. He scratched his head and thought for a moment.

"Damn. It's been years. I've known her since I was 9, so I guess that makes it 9 years that we've known each other." He told her.

"I'm guessing you guys met through the Pack?" Kagome surmised. Inuyasha nodded.

"Yeah. I had been training for a year when they brought in Kara. She's like me in that they pulled her off the street. Her parents are alive though they might as well be dead. They want nothing to do with her." He said bitterly. Kagome frowned deeply. She couldn't imagine what that had to feel like, your own parents not caring about you.

"That's awful." She said after a moment.

"Yeah no kidding." Inuyasha agreed, "Because of that, we gravitated towards each other. My parents were dead and hers weren't around. I sorta became the big brother she never had. In a way, I guess I still am. She still comes to me when she has a problem or just wants to talk. I've even come to her a few times." Kagome wondered what he had to get off his chest to Kara about, but decided that she would ask him about it later.

"So you guys trained together and all that?" She asked instead. Inuyasha chuckled.

"Well for a while, I was training her not with her. The job got left to me since we were a little short staffed back then. That was back during the times when the gangs were rampant and wars raged in the streets. Those didn't end until Naraku's gang finally won out about five years ago. Needless to say, we were a little busy and didn't exactly have the manpower to train a few kids. Kara, Sesshomaru, and I all had to share one handler who wasn't even there half the time because he was on mission. After the first year or so though, we all were basically around the same level and could start truly training together." He explained, the memories flooding his mind. A thought hit Kagome's mind as she remembered the conversations that had been had throughout that day about Kara.

"I remember someone saying something about her being in your squad." Kagome said, "When did that come about?" Inuyasha closed his eyes and sighed.

"You've got a lot of questions you know that?" He said, rubbing his eyes. Kagome frowned.

"Is that a bad thing?" She asked, concerned. Inuyasha chuckled.

"No. Not really. We actually train you to do that. It's an easy way to gather information. I'm just surprised that you're this curious." He told her.

"I'm full of surprises." She joked, "Now come on. Answer the question." Inuyasha smiled.

"Fine." He sighed, "When I turned 11, they formed our squad. It was Kara, Sesshomaru, and I plus Miroku who we didn't know at the time. In about 3 years, we earned elite squad status, which is a record by the way. We broke the old one by 5 years. No one expected a bunch of teenagers to pull that off, but we did. Kara took pride in that and did until they pulled her off 2 years later and stuck her here. That pissed her off and it's how we got Koga." Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Why'd they pull her off?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha snorted.

"It sure as hell wasn't because she wasn't good enough. She's a whole lot better than Koga and both of them know it. No, it was for a different reason and that's a really long story that I don't think you'd understand yet." Inuyasha told her truthfully, "Anyway, it wasn't Koga's idea to replace Kara. Honestly, I'm not sure who ordered it. Hell, it could have been Arihiro for all I know, though I doubt it. He was always a big fan of our squad and liked Kara a lot. Still does, in fact. It's easy to tell that he thinks her skills are being wasted here. All I know is that there was a lot of politics behind it." Kagome could tell that Inuyasha was obviously still angry about it. She could understand why. In his eyes, his sister had been slighted for some ridiculous reason. Kagome didn't know what that reason was, but seeing how irritated it made him, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. There was, however, one thing she did want to know.

"So," She began hesitantly, "have you ever... you know... looked at Kara in a... well... romantic way?" Inuyasha's eyes widened and he stared at her as if she were crazy.

"What?" He asked, not sure he heard her correctly. Kagome's cheeks became bright red.

"You know what I mean." She said quickly, "Have you ever been... interested in her?"

"No!" He said immediately, "She's basically my sister! Why the hell would you even ask me that? That's just weird!" Kagome's face became an even darker shade of red from her embarrassment.

"It's a logical question!" She insisted, "I've only heard of you being with one other girl and, from what I can tell, that didn't work out. I was just wondering if that was because you were holding out for Kara!" Inuyasha's face darkened at her words. Kagome had planned to keep going, but his sudden serious demeanor made her stop in her tracks. He averted his gaze, obviously not wanting to meet her eyes.

"You heard about that, eh?" He asked, his voice low and strained. Kagome simply nodded not knowing what to say.

"Damn." Inuyasha sighed, "What all did you hear?" His eyes still didn't meet her own. It made Kagome feel almost hurt that he couldn't.

"Well, I don't know how accurate it is." She admitted, "I heard it from a girl at school that isn't part of the Pack."

"Hmm." Inuyasha responded, thinking about the implications of that. He paused a moment, "So you heard that we were... close and then she dropped off of the face of the earth right?"

"Umm... Yeah..." Kagome affirmed hesitantly. Inuyasha sighed.

"Well, I guess that's about right." He said, smiling weakly, though his eyes still showed an intense sadness. He paused again before looking at her, finally meeting her eyes, "Kagome?"

"Yeah?" She responded, curious as to what was on his mind.

"Have you noticed or found it strange that there aren't any couples in the Pack?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

"There aren't any couples in the Pack. Have you noticed that?" He repeated. Kagome thought for a moment.

"But both of my parents were in the Pack. And so were all of my friends' parents. They're couples." Kagome pointed out, "I mean, you were with that girl. I think her name was Kikyo or something, but you were together and in the Pack." Inuyasha nodded slowly, his eyes still sad. It broke Kagome's heart to see him like this. She had never imagined that he could appear so vulnerable or fragile.

"You're right, of course." Inuyasha began, "But that's not what I meant. I was referring to now, among the unmarried generation." Kagome racked her brain, but couldn't think of any. She also didn't have any idea why it mattered.

"What does this have to do with anything?" She asked him, avoiding answering him.

"There aren't any, in case you were wondering. As for why it matters, well, the reason behind it changed and scarred the Pack forever." He said, once again averting his gaze. Kagome waited for him to elaborate, but he never did.

"What does that mean?" She asked eventually. Inuyasha sighed, but didn't speak. Instead, he sat up and got off of the bed. Kagome stared at him as he walked to the table that was beside her bed. She had no idea what he was doing, but couldn't muster the strength to speak. Inuyasha grabbed the two books on the table and turned to face her. He handed her the thinner book, while setting the other on the bed. Kagome sat up and took the Law Book of the Pack into her hands and stared at Inuyasha with a confused look.

"The answer is in the last law of the book. It has a reference to the Histories as to what caused the law. I think that should take care of your question, though you may not like what you find." Inuyasha said softly, his voice barely managing to be louder than a whisper. Slowly, he turned and began to walk towards the door.

"Hey!" Kagome called after him, making him stop and turn his head back to look at her, "Why can't you just tell me?" Kagome saw the look of pain on his face intensify before he turned away from her.

"I don't like to talk about it." Was all he said before continuing towards the door, opening it, and shutting it behind him on his way out.

Kagome was too stunned to say anything. She honestly didn't know what had just happened. Nothing that had just been said made sense. The second she mentioned Inuyasha's old relationship, he became completely serious and was obviously pained beyond belief. Kagome could see that they hadn't parted on good terms, but not even the worst of break ups should have still been bothering him so much after two years that the mere mention of it would make him unable to function properly. Unless of course, he had really loved her and something terrible had happened. The thought made Kagome's heart clench in her chest. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen or heard of Kikyo at all from any of the Pack members. The only reason she knew about it was from school gossip. A million different thoughts raced through her mind, including that she had been reassigned like Kara or even died. For some reason, though, the thought that disturbed her most was that they had been in love. The mere idea of that made Kagome nauseous and incredibly uncomfortable.

She pushed these thoughts from her mind, though with great difficulty, and instead stared at the book that Inuyasha had told her to look into. He had said that this book and the Histories held the answers that she was looking for. The only problem was that Kagome was scared to look. She had no idea what the pages might say or what she might find. They could say things that hurt Kagome worse than what she was feeling now. Considering what Inuyasha had said about them, that was probably true. Kagome, however, decided that she was going to look anyway. She needed to. Without her noticing it, she had developed a desire to know everything she could about Inuyasha. These books in front of her held the answers to something huge in his life, so she couldn't just ignore that. She set aside her fears and began to open the book.

A loud banging on her door rang out making Kagome jump, throwing the book forward from her hands and almost falling off of the bed herself.

"Kagome!" Came a familiar female voice, "Kagome! Are you in there?" It was Kara. Apparently she had finished her paperwork. The books would have to wait.

"Yeah, I'm in here." Kagome yelled back through the door. She could hear the sigh of relief from Kara's lips from inside the room.

"Awesome! Can you let me in? I forgot my key in there with a bunch of other stuff and now I'm locked out." She explained.

"Yeah, I gotcha." She said getting up from the bed and walking over the door. Kagome opened it and held it to allow Kara inside.

"Thank you so much Kagome." She said walking over to her bed and plopping herself down on it, "I didn't want to have to hunt down Jack, the janitor to this section, again and get him to unlock it for me. Inuyasha would never let me live down doing this for a third time in one month." Kagome laughed weakly.

"I can see how that wouldn't be fun." She said, shutting the door and walking over to sit on her own bed.

"Oh you have no idea how he can get sometimes." Kara said running her hands through her hair. She paused for a second, "Speaking of Inuyasha, I saw him walking away from this room. He looked off. It was almost like he was in pain. You know anything about it?" Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it. She didn't know whether to say anything or not. Hell, she didn't know what to say even if she chose to say anything.

"Well... um..." She stammered.

"Shit." Kara interjected, "You don't look so good either. What happened?" Kagome hung her head and stared at the floor.

"Um... nothing." She said.

"Nothing my ass." Kara told her forcefully, "That's not the look of someone with nothing wrong. Kagome, what happened. You can talk to me. We're family now." Kagome looked up at the girl. She barely knew her. Hell, she didn't even know what her last name was. Yet, all that aside, for some reason, she found herself trusting her. Maybe the Pack really was like family.

"I was talking to Inuyasha about some stuff that happened in the past." Kagome finally admitted.

"Oh fuck." Kara cursed, "There's only one thing that makes him get like that. How did you get him talking about Kikyo?" Kagome's eyes went wide. Apparently this wasn't the first time that Inuyasha had gotten like this before. Kara had seen it often enough to know it right off the bat without any other information.

"I'm not really sure. It just kinda happened." Kagome lied, not wanting to tell her that she had been asking about Inuyasha's romantic history with Kara herself.

"Damn. Well, I guess you can see that it's a bit of a touchy subject for him." Kara said, giving the understatement of the century.

"Yeah." Kagome said simply. Kara sighed.

"What'd he tell you?" She asked after a moment.

"Nothing. He just said to look in the Pack books" Kagome told her, pointing to the Law Book where she had thrown it. Kara nodded.

"Should have expected that. He doesn't like to remember what happened." She said, sighing, "But he's right. The Book is more thorough than any of us would be. It'll give you the whole story and you won't have to listen to us rant about it."

"So you're not gonna tell me either?" Kagome asked, unable to believe it. Kara shook her head.

"No, but you can do that later. I'm not especially a big fan of talking about it either." She admitted, her voice apologetic, "None of us are, but Inuyasha and I were the most affected by it. That's why we only really talk about it with each other."

"I'm sorry." Kagome said, unsure of what else she could say. Kara gave her a friendly smile.

"Don't worry about it. I've come to terms with it for the most part. It's still upsetting, but I avoid thinking about it." She told her, "Inuyasha, not so much. You saw first hand what it did to him. You'll see why." Kagome nodded, but didn't say anything. All she really wanted now, since she obviously wasn't going to get to read the books any time soon, was to get her mind off of this subject. Kara happily obliged her.

"Alright." She said happily, "Let's talk about something less depressing." Kagome laughed weakly and laid back onto her bed.

"Like what?" She asked, curious as to what Kara was trying to do. Kara laughed.

"Well, we're two teenage girls. What do you think we're gonna talk about?" She asked jokingly. Kagome sat up and gave Kara an amused look.

"So Kara, any guys got your eye?" She asked.

"Okay, oh my gosh!" Kara said, using her hands to express herself, "I saw this guy on my last assignment. My squad and I were at this club scoping out our target and I was failing miserably because he kept checking me out and he was hot. Needless to say, I was checking him out too. We ended up drinking the night away until I went home with him. I think you can extrapolate from there. It was a-ma-zing!" Kagome blushed deeply. She hadn't expected to hear that. There was more to this girl than she thought.

"That's... um... interesting..." Kagome stammered. Kara laughed.

"Yeah. And a complete lie." Kara said, doubling over onto her bed from how hard she was laughing, "And you bought it is the best part." Kagome started to laugh with her since Kara's emotions seemed to be just so infectious. There really was more to her than Kagome had originally thought. It took Kara another minute or so before she could finally talk again.

"Damn that was great. Sorry I had to do it at your expense, but I had to see whether you'd buy it or not." Kara said smiling broadly at her. Kagome smiled back.

"I guess I did. You were really convincing you know." Kagome told her, laughing as Kara took an exaggerated bow from her sitting position, "But you never answered."

"You're right about that." She admitted, "I've really been too busy I guess. I haven't been on mission in forever and I'm usually too swamped in paperwork to look at any of the guys around here." Kagome nodded sympathetically.

"I can understand that." She said, "I didn't really have any boyfriends in school because I focused so much on school work. Though, I guess now it's not school that I'll be focusing on." Kara nodded, her eyes taking on a mischievous glint.

"Definitely not." She agreed, "And I know I don't need to ask what boy you're gonna go after now that school's out of the way." Kagome blushed immediately.

"What?" She asked, her voice panicky, "What do you mean?" Kara winked at her.

"Oh you know. A certain mysterious blond haired assassin." She pried.

"Oh... Um... Well..." Kagome stammered, "I thought there weren't any couples in the Pack anymore. Like as in it's forbidden or looked down upon."

"More like forbidden." Kara said, mischief crossing her face yet again, "That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen." Kagome blushed harder.

"Oh..." Was all she managed to say.

"Come on Kagome." Kara insisted, "It's obvious that you like him. I'm sure even he can see it, though, if anyone couldn't, it'd be him." Kagome laughed.

"Well, actually, I was starting to think that you had a thing for him." She admitted.

"Me? And Inuyasha?" Kara asked incredulously. Kagome nodded.

"Well, yeah. You have the dynamic for it and you fit so perfectly together." She told Kara.

"Pfft. Hardly." Kara insisted, ignoring the obvious.

"Hey, you're avoiding the question again." Kagome pointed out. Kara sighed.

"Damn you're observant." She said, exasperated. Kagome beamed.

"Thanks. Now answer." She commanded.

"Well, at one point, yeah. Yeah, I guess I did." Kara admitted, "I looked up to him and it turn into romance when I became a teenager." Kagome frowned thinking about what she had said.

"You said 'at one point.' What made that change?" She asked, curious. Kara smiled warmly.

"I realized that my place wasn't as his lover, it was as his friend and sister. That's where he needs me and, honestly, where I need him. A certain girl that shares your looks taught me that." She explained, "Plus, I realized that my feelings were just teenage infatuation towards someone I admired, not love." Kagome's brow furrowed at her words. She only had a vague idea of who Kara was talking about.

"A certain girl that shares my looks? You mean Kikyo?" Kagome asked, receiving a nod in the affirmative from Kara, "So Kikyo drove you away from Inuyasha?" Kara began to laugh heartily, as if the notion was ridiculous. It took her a moment before she composed herself to the point where she could answer.

"Not exactly." She told Kagome, wiping her eyes, "We were best friends and I saw how she made Inuyasha feel. He seemed happy with her in different way than when he was with me. I realized that it was because he loved her romantically, while he loved me as though we were blood. Kikyo actually knew how I felt about Inuyasha and made absolutely sure that I was okay with it before they got together. Then she made sure that I didn't feel awkward around them. It's because of her that I realized where I was meant to be in relation to Inuyasha." Kagome smiled at the thoughts. This Kikyo seemed like an amazing person. However, Kagome quickly remembered how Inuyasha had reacted to the mere mention of his relationship with her. The pain and sadness that had filled his face told a different story. She wondered what could have possibly happened, but knew better than to push Kara for that answer. Instead, she chose a different approach to learn a little more about the history of this little group.

"So," Kagome began, "is it hard? You know, not having him reciprocate your feelings?" Kara smiled warmly.

"It was at first. Even though Kikyo tried to make it as easy as possible, it still stung that he didn't choose me. But like I said, I realized that my feelings weren't love. They were infatuation. My place was solidified once Kikyo... was... gone. I had to comfort Inuyasha. I was the only person that could understand since I was in pain too. Kikyo was my best friend, so I guess we comforted each other. From then on, we've been our own little family." Kara explained. This answered a few of Kagome's questions, but only served to create more.

"So why did you get taken off of Inuyasha's squad and put here?" She asked, wanting to know the answer to the question that had been bugging her ever since Inuyasha had told her about it.

"Ahh." Kara began slowly, "That's also because of Kikyo. I guess you could say that both of us were emotionally compromised at the time. Command didn't want half of a squad incapacitated by their emotions, so they split us up. He got to stay on the field and I got sent to train the pups. Inuyasha is convinced that there's some bigger purpose behind it and that all sorts of bullshit was involved, but I'm not convinced. Maybe it's because I don't want to believe it, but I don't and I won't until I see proof."

"What does Inuyasha think is the real reason?" Kagome asked, confused as to why the two had differing opinions. Kara frowned, a foreign expression to her normally happy face.

"I don't think you would understand that yet. There's a lot you need to learn about us, our history, and how the Pack functions before you could understand." She said apologetically before returning to a smile with a chuckle, "Of course, when you do understand, I'm sure Inuyasha won't hesitate to explain his position. He's not exactly quiet about his disdain for the decision when you get him talking." Kagome nodded. She could easily see how opinionated of a person Inuyasha was. It made sense that he could get worked up quickly over something that he saw as unjust.

The girls spent the next few hours talking. They didn't really talk about anything of much importance as their previous conversation had entailed. Mostly, it just had to do with getting to know each other. Stuff like where they were from, what their interests were outside of the Pack, and other pieces of general information were all covered. Neither of the two realized how late it was. That is until Kara looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it read 7:53.

"Shit!" She cursed, making Kagome jump in surprise.

"What?!" Kagome asked frantically, desperately searching for what had caused the sudden outburst.

"I'm going to be late!" Kara said, jumping from the bed and grabbing various things that were strewn around her bed.

"For what?" Kagome asked, curious as to what was so important.

"I've gotta meet with you know who." The girl said cryptically, though Kagome got who she was talking about. She was going to see Inuyasha.

"What are you going to meet about?" Kagome questioned as Kara was still rummaging around mumbling something about a "damn knife."

"Not sure." She replied, "He ran after me once I left you guys to go do paperwork and told me to meet him at 8. It seemed important, though I don't know what it's gonna deal with." Kagome nodded and looked on as Kara celebrated finding a good sized straight knife which she promptly slid into her sleeve. It was less than a minute before Kara was ready to leave after that. They said their goodbyes and Kara rushed out of the door leaving Kagome alone in the room.

Kagome was sorry that Kara was gone. She had thoroughly enjoyed their conversation and had learned a great deal about the girl that who would be her trainer. However, with her gone, she could finally see what was hidden inside the Books of the Pack. Kagome grabbed the Law Book which she was supposed to look at first. She put her hand on the cover, but hesitated in opening the book. Did she really want to know what was inside? She felt like she was prying into the life of Inuyasha and Kara, like she was butting into something she had no place in whatsoever. But then she remembered something Kara had said. "We're family now." This small comment gave Kagome the courage and resolve she needed to explore this unknown history. She grabbed the book firmly and, knowing that it was the last law in the book from what Inuyasha had told her, turned to the back.

**Frustrating right? This Kikyo back story is going to cause a lot of problems in the future. Of course, it did in the anime too. And trust me, we're a long way from when the prologue is set. You guys will have most of it together by then. I'm sure some astute readers have got it all figured out already. Message me with your ideas and I'll see if anybody is even close, but don't give it away to anyone. And as always... REVIEW PLEASE! I love hearing you guys tell me what you think, even if it's criticism. Hope you guys like Kara. I find her to be an... interesting character. One of my favorites anyway. So yeah, tell me what you think guys.**


	9. A Muddled History

**And with this chapter, things will start to fall into place. Notice I said start. Trust me. There's more to it, but this is a good start. Prepare for a history lesson!**

Chapter 9: A Muddled History

Kagome turned the pages cautiously. Nervous energy was making her hands shake badly. At least, that's what she told herself was the reason. The Law Book was quite large, but even with this, it didn't take her long to find the object of her search. This law was introduced just as all of the other laws were in the book. There was a cover page that identified the number of the law and its date of addition. It was devoid of any other information. Kagome hesitated one last time before turning the page. The words told a story all their own. They read:

Law Fifty-Four:

No Pack member shall ever have a romantic relationship with another member of the Pack.

Purpose:

Romance among the Pack hinders decision making. It is a certainty that these feelings will get in the way of the objective of any mission or exercise. Due to the nature of our organization, our family, we must be strong in everything we do. We must be able to make quick and sometimes hard decisions. These cannot be influenced by feelings of love for another member. They must be objective and goal based.

It is also true that many members die in our line of work. What we do is dangerous and has an extremely high risk attached to it. Feelings of romance for another member could be crippling if the object of those feelings were to die or otherwise be injured or terminated. This would cause the member left behind to be completely ineffective and a hindrance on a mission, which would put other members at risk.

We cannot afford these types of costly distractions. The lives of the Pack are more valuable than the feelings of any individual member. For this reason, romance and romantic relationships have been forbidden.

Punishment:

Left up to the discretion of the superior officers of the law breaker. No punishments will be considered too severe.

History:

Cause: Histories - Section I - Subsection K - Article 89

Notable Infringements: None

Kagome gulped. There was more there, but she didn't feel like forcing herself to read it. She hadn't expected the law to be this strict about it. From what Kara had said, it seemed like the law was fairly lenient on this issue. However, the actual text told a far different story. From this Kagome could make many different assumptions, but she didn't know the whole story. For that, she would have to read the Histories. She closed book in her hands and set it aside. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the other, thicker book. She brushed her hand across the leather cover. It was untitled, just like the Law Book, but she knew what it was.

After a moment's hesitation, Kagome opened the book and began to search for Section I. Luckily for her, the book was in alphabetical order. Leave it to the assassins to be organized in their record keeping. It didn't take her long to find Section I, Subsection K. The articles inside, at first glance, mostly detailed successful missions that had been undertaken by Pack members. Kagome even saw one that Inuyasha had done with Kara four years prior. However, she didn't stop to read it. Her goal was article 89 and, after a few more seconds of flipping, she found it. She stared at the page without really reading it for a moment before closing her eyes and mentally steeling herself for what she was about to learn. After a moment, she nodded to herself and opened her eyes to read the words in front of her.

One year and nine months earlier

A bead of sweat ran down Inuyasha's cheek. His concentration was fierce. It needed to be. He couldn't afford to miss. The knife in his hand was cold and his target small. With this in mind, though, only about ten feet separated him from victory. He took in a deep breath. As he exhaled it slowly, he brought back the knife and then threw it forward through the air in one fluid motion. The knife flew through the air, spinning over itself as it went. Inuyasha closed his eyes, hoping that it would hit home. It wasn't until he heard the thump of the knife sticking into its target did he crack his eyes to see the result.

"DAMMIT!" He screamed into the small room. The sounds of laughter filled the room.

"C'mon Inuyasha!" Miroku jeered from the side, "Can't even beat of girl in a game of knife throwing?" Inuyasha turned to him and narrowed his eyes.

"I'll beat you." He threatened, cracking his knuckles. At that moment, he felt an arm go around his waist and pull him tight against a familiar, warm body.

"Inu baby, calm down. We all know you're a guns expert. You're a damn good knife thrower too. It's just that Kara is a master." Kikyo cooed. Inuyasha sighed. He couldn't argue with her and his anger just seemed to leave him at the sound of Kikyo's soothing voice. It was like honey to his ears. He looked over at the victorious Kara, who was still giving him a haughty look. It made him laugh to himself. At least his little sister could beat him in something.

"Fine." Inuyasha breathed after a moment, putting his own arm around Kikyo, "You're right." Kikyo beamed up at him, her smiling face making Inuyasha's heart skip a beat.

"I know babe." She joked, "Now come on. Let's get you a drink."

Inuyasha smiled as Kikyo led him to the bar. He was extremely thankful for the month they all had off from work. It had been a long time since he had been able to just kick back and relax, especially with his woman. Kikyo poured him a glass of Wild Turkey 101, his favorite American bourbon. It burnt like hell, but it tasted good and got him drunk, which was an accomplishment for a drink. Kikyo herself picked up the fruity little drink that she had ordered about ten minutes earlier, yet hadn't touched yet. By US law, they were underage, but, then again, they weren't subject to US law. Hell, they weren't subject to any law except their own.

A few hours later, Inuyasha along with every single other Pack member in the bar was drunk and passed out, or on the verge of doing so. Everyone except for Kikyo. She chuckled to herself and stepped out of the bar to make a call. The cool night air nipped at her face. It was comfortable outside and the city lights lit up the sidewalk just enough to see, but not be annoying. Kikyo looked around to make sure that she was alone. Upon seeing that she was, she reached for her cellphone. Only one person in the world besides her knew about that phone besides her and that person wasn't in the Pack.

She unlocked the phone and accessed its contact book. Of course there was only one number inside. She called the number and waited for the other person to answer. The phone rang twice, as always, before the man she was calling picked up.

"Report." He said, his voice smooth and low. Kikyo smirked. The man had never been one for many words. He had always been straight to the point unless the occasion called for something more poetic.

"They're out. All of them are drunk off of their asses." Kikyo informed him. The man on the other end chuckled.

"Good. They have never been the most intelligent bunch have they?" The man joked, making Kikyo laugh.

"No, not at all sir. They let me in after all." She told him, amused by stupidity of the self-proclaimed best assassins in the world. The man on the other end sighed.

"This may be true, but unfortunately, we have to abort tonight's operation." He told her. Kikyo's eyes widened in surprise.

"But sir, they are open for the taking. We could take out this threat now and never have to worry about them ever again." She protested, "I don't understand your decision." The man chuckled to himself.

"I didn't expect that you would." He admitted, "Let's just say that there are two people that I want to keep alive in that room." Kikyo's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean sir?" She demanded, " Who are you talking about?"

"You're a smart girl. I think you can figure it out." He told her, "You do happen to be very... close to both of them." Kikyo's jaw dropped.

"You mean..." She began.

"Yes." The man said quickly cutting her off. That sealed it. Kikyo had always suspected something. Their looks had given them away. The strange orders to get close to both of them only affirmed her guesses. But, until now, that's all they had been. Now, though, they were fact in her mind. Kikyo smirked. Now she understood this whole assignment. She understood it and could see the endgame in sight.

"I understand." She said after a moment.

"Good. Now get moving." He commanded. With that, the line went dead. Kikyo put the phone back into its hiding place in a secret pocket in her bag. She smiled to herself and walked off into the parking lot. Her Pack issue cherry red Ferrari 458 was waiting for her right beside Inuyasha's jet black Lamborghini. That was one of the few things she liked about the Pack. They had nice cars. Kikyo approached Inuyasha's car. In his drunken stupor, it had been easy to get the keys. She unlocked the car and dropped a slip of paper onto the driver's seat. The whole situation made her laugh. With that done, Kikyo closed Inuyasha's car, leaving it unlocked and the keys on the seat, and walked to her own car. She got in, started it up, and drove off onto the dark city streets. She made sure that the silenced pistol that she had on her and would need later that night was well concealed. Naraku Jigoku was not going to be disappointed in her. Kikyo Hitomi could do treason better than anyone in the world.

One year and nine months later

Kagome's hands went weak as the heavy book fell from her hands. Kikyo hadn't died. She hadn't been reassigned. She hadn't just broken up with Inuyasha. She had done something far worse than all of those. Kikyo Hitomi had gone rogue. She had betrayed the Pack and, in doing so, had killed three high ranking officers in the Pack, all of whom had trained Inuyasha and Kara at some point in their careers. It was the most disgusting thing that she had ever heard of in her life. She had gotten all of the young members drunk at a party that she had suggested and arranged. Then she used her position within the Pack to get close to three unsuspecting officers. Upon meeting with them on the pretense of discussing training methods, she put a bullet into each of them. Her treason wasn't discovered until the next morning. By that, time she was long gone, presumably in another country. After that, her trail had been cold for over year. It stayed that way until the one year anniversary of her betrayal. On that day, Arihiro's office was broken into. Nothing was taken, but a hit for Naraku Jigoku was left along with evidence that Kikyo had been working for him since birth.

Kagome felt sick to her stomach. It was all wrong. Inuyasha had loved Kikyo. He trusted her with everything, including his life. Kikyo had known that and had done everything to cultivate it, so that she could tear it to shreds in the end. Then she had done it again on the one year anniversary. No wonder Inuyasha couldn't deal with the memories. He blamed himself for the deaths of three officers that he called his friends. Kara probably felt the same way. Kikyo had been her best friend and then she had become a traitor. Now it was Kagome's job to avenge that and even out the score. That was her job, her responsibility.

Anger, pity, rage, sadness, and many other feelings that she didn't understand filled her all at one time. The tears began to fall of their own accord. She couldn't control them, nor did she understand them. Her trust had not been betrayed and her heart had not been broken. Yet at the same time, she felt as if those emotions were her own. It didn't take much for her to figure out why. Inuyasha and Kara were her family now. Kikyo had been apart of that family at one point too. Then she had torn that family apart, ripping some from it by death and destroying the hearts of others as she left. Her heart was now subject to all of the emotions that her family had felt upon that betrayal. Kagome wasn't ready to handle this yet. Nothing had prepared her for it. She curled up onto her bed as her cries turned into sobs.

Kagome was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice what was going on around her. At some point, someone had opened her door. The only reason she knew that was because she was suddenly being taken into someone's arms. These arms were strong and familiar. A smaller, softer hand began to rub her arm in a comforting gesture as the stronger ones pulled her tighter into a body firm with muscle. The two different people were saying something to her about it being alright, but her brain couldn't process their words. All she could do was hold on tightly to the shirt of the person holding her and soak it with her tears.

It took her a few minutes to compose herself. At some point, she figured out who was holding onto her so tightly. It was Inuyasha, while Kara was on her other side trying to comfort her as best she could.

"Kagome." Inuyasha whispered into her ear as her tears began to slow to a stop, "Kagome, you're gonna be alright."

"How? How can you say that?" Kagome pleaded into his shirt, "She betrayed all of us. She threw away Kara's friendship and she ripped out your heart. How is anything ever going to be alright again?" Inuyasha held her tighter, but didn't say anything. He let Kara answer this one for him.

"We'll kill her." Kara said bitterly, "We'll kill her and Naraku. No one betrays the Pack and lives. Ever. It's as simple as that."

"Kikyo thinks that she's won, but the game isn't over yet. The last word and the last bullet will be mine." Inuyasha told her matter-of-factly, "And you're going to help." Kagome looked up at his face for the first time. His eyes were full of fire. He was sure of himself and not a single doubt existed. Kikyo was dead to him.

"And how can I help?" Kagome cried, "I'm not trained. I'm not strong. I'm nothing compared to Kikyo."

"NO!" Inuyasha roared, taking Kagome and Kara off guard, "Don't you EVER belittle yourself compared to thag bitch ever again! She betrayed us. That makes her lower than the dirt I walk on. A strand of your hair is worth more than her life." Kagome didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. The fury and hate built up in Inuyasha's voice said everything that needed to be said on the subject.

"He's right you know." Kara said after a moment, "And don't worry about training. We'll make sure that you're ready. By the time we're done with you, killing will be second nature." Kagome laughed to herself.

"You make that sound like a good thing." She said weakly.

"The people we kill need to die." Inuyasha told her, "Never doubt that fact."

"Kikyo is a prime example." Kara added. Kagome simply nodded. It was another few moments before she, or anyone else spoke again.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome began, not knowing if she wanted to know the answer to what she was about to ask.

"Yes Kagome?" He responded, waiting for her. Kagome took a deep breath.

"The Histories don't tell the whole story do they?" Both Inuyasha and Kara froze at the question. Kagome immediately knew that she was right and continued, "So what is the whole story then? From the beginning."

Inuyasha swallowed hard. He hadn't been expecting this question, but damn was the girl perceptive. She was her father's daughter. There was more to it than the Histories suggested and to understand it, you had to know her whole history.

"Kikyo came to us just over four years ago." Inuyasha began, "It was unusual because she sought us out. That had never happened before and has never happened since. Said she had heard rumors or some bullshit like that. Anyway, she had no known attachments. We did every type of background check possible. By all records, she was an orphan that had recently gone missing and that no one cared enough about to look for. Arihiro decided to give her a shot. She knew about us, so it was either kill her or let her in. We should have fucking killed her. When put to the test, she excelled in every category. Athletics, academics, weapons, it didn't matter. It was like she was a natural at them all. That should have tipped us off, but she was also an amazing actress and had us all fooled into believing that she was simply just that good. Arihiro accepted her in and sped her through training. He treated her like the golden girl. Hell, we all did. I was assigned to train her in guns of all types. She was good. By the end of it, she was almost as good as me. Could hit a target a square inch in size from a mile away. During her training, she played me and Kara worse than anyone else. We were like her own little puppets. She probably enjoyed it and got a hell of a kick out of it. As a show of how bad she had us fooled, I fell in love and opened up to her. Told her everything, while she fed me lies. Eventually we began to date. That was back when Pack relationships were encouraged instead of forbidden. Arihiro knew we were together and sent us on missions alone together. We fought and watched each others backs. Hell, she even saved my life more than a few times. It only brought me closer to her and wrapped me around her finger even more. I loved her. I even told her that I'd fucking marry her. That's where it really went wrong. In order to celebrate my "bold declaration" she said that all of the young squads should have a party. Since we had just been given a month off by Commander Arihiro, we figured that it was the perfect time. Well at this celebration, everyone got drunk of their ass. Everyone except for Kikyo. She had the whole damn thing planned. While we were passed out, she left to commit her betrayal without worry of being caught or hindered by one of us. That night she killed our officers, my commanders. No one figured it out until the next morning. None of our drunken selves would have figured out until even later than that except for one little gift that she left me. I walked out of the bar that morning, planning to drive home and sleep off my hangover. Found my keys in the car next to a slip of paper. It was note that Kikyo had left the night before. I'd say knife to back is a better term for it, though. It's words, handwritten by Kikyo, read: "You may now kiss the bride." The second I finished reading it, a .308 bullet slammed into my body half an inch below my heart. The worst part is that she wasn't trying to kill me. I would have preferred to have died. The bullet went straight through and didn't hit anything vital. It was an incredibly difficult shot to make and not done on accident. I trained her to make that very shot to put an enemy down without risking his life. She was trying to taunt me and show me how badly I'd been played. To add insult to injury, when we analyzed the bullet, we found a message on it. It was the end of the note she'd left in my car. Written on that bullet was "-Love, Kikyo Takahashi." The bitch took my last name and defiled it by putting it next to hers. She was mocking the feelings that she had cultivated in me. One last little fuck you to remind me of much of a dumbass I was. Needless to say, I got the message."

Once finished, Inuyasha went dead quiet. Kagome didn't say anything either. She didn't have any idea that anyone could be so cruel or heartless. Kagome turned her head into Inuyasha's chest and rested her forehead on it, trying hard not picture a bullet hole there spouting blood all over the place. These attempts failed miserably, however, and her stomach began to churn. Thankfully, Kara broke the uncomfortable silence.

"He was in the hospital for weeks." She began, "It didn't take long to heal since it was essentially just a flesh wound. We had to remove the scar because Pack members aren't allowed to have them. They are distinguishing features that can identify us at inopportune times. As for Kikyo, she tore the Pack apart. Everyone sort of blamed themselves for what happened. No one saw what should have been obvious. But like Inuyasha said, Kikyo was a good actress and kept it hidden from us all until the day she betrayed us. I guess it's clear enough that Inuyasha and I were the hardest hit by all of this, so we got reassigned to different squads."

"Kara, you and I both know that's bullshit!" Inuyasha yelled, "They split us up because the higher ups thought they couldn't fucking trust us!" Kara held up her hands to stem the oncoming rant that she had all too much experience with.

"Not now Inu. Not now." She said calmly. To Kagome's surprise, he actually listened and didn't say another word on the subject.

"So what happens now?" Kagome asked weakly. Inuyasha and Kara exchanged a look before nodding.

"It's getting late and you need to sleep." Kara advised, "Inuyasha and I need it too. These coming weeks are going to be hard on all of us."

"She's right." Inuyasha agreed, still holding onto Kagome, "You need rest and Kara is going to make sure that you get it." Kagome nodded.

"You're gonna be alright though, right?" She asked him, making him chuckle softly.

"Kagome, I've been dealing with this for almost two years. One night of having to tell someone about it isn't going to be the death of me." He assured her, "I should really be asking you that question. This is still new to you." Kagome smiled at the ridiculousness of him asking about her well being when she hadn't been the one hurt by this.

"I'll be fine." She told him.

"Good." Inuyasha said. He squeezed her tight one last time before releasing her and standing up from the bed to head out the door.

"Inuyasha." She called out, making him stop and look at her from over his shoulder, "Thank you. For everything." Inuyasha smiled softly at her.

"Yeah." He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. With that he walked out the door into the night that had fallen at some point during the time that Kagome had been in the room. In all honesty, Kagome didn't want him to leave, but knew that he had to go.

"Kagome." Kara said, ripping her from her thoughts, "You do need to sleep, but if you want to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks Kara." Kagome said, laying back on the bed, "But I don't really think I want to talk about this much any more." Kara chuckled softly.

"Now you get how all of the rest of us feel." She joked, "I understand. Get some sleep Kagome. Tomorrow is gonna be one of the hardest days you've ever had." Kagome nodded, getting what Kara was saying.

She didn't even bother to undress. Kagome closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her. The black bliss of unconsciousness took her by storm and, for once, dreams left her alone that night and allowed her mind to rest, if only for the night.

**Told ya. Kikyo's backstory is a lot more complex than this. For that matter, so is the backstory of every single character in this story. There's only one person that knows everything and we've only gotten a glimpse of him in this chapter. Know who he is? I guess we'll just have to see how our young friends fare. If you can guess what's gonna happen, you're probably a mind reader. And if you are... STAY OUTTA MY HEAD! Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying this. The girls are finally going to start training next chapter. Bout time right? They don't have all that much time...**


	10. Every Day Is What A Day

**Alright, so if this chapter sucks, I blame writer's block... It's a bitch... Did the best I could though. Basically just exploited a few of my characters and screwed around with all of their emotions. Yay... anyway, hopefully it will be interesting and entertaining for you guys.**

**Now onwards!**

Chapter 10: Every Day is What A Day

"GET THE FUCK UP!" The scream tore through Kagome's sleeping mind and nearly made her head slam into the ceiling from the resulting startled jump.

"What?!" Kagome panicked, "What's going on?!" She searched the room looking for the source of the wake up call until her eyes finally settled on Kara. The girl was standing at the foot of her bed, clad in the standard issue black clothing with her blonde hair in a high ponytail. Her face was serious, but it wasn't hard to tell that she was holding back a laugh.

"Get your ass up Kagome!" Kara yelled, "Training starts today and you need to get moving or you won't be getting breakfast."

"Fuck!" Kagome cursed, quickly jumping out of bed and grabbing things that she knew she would need, "Why didn't you get me up earlier then?" Kara smirked.

"Because this is funny as hell." She said calmly, "Oh and you'll need a knife, your pistols, and a high pain tolerance." Kagome rolled her eyes at the joke, but quickly gathered the materials and joined Kara. With that done, they rushed out the door and down into the barely lit, early morning courtyard.

Waiting for them was the familiar foursome of Inuyasha, Miroku, Koga, and Sesshomaru. None of the other girls were there yet. Kagome instantly began to wonder why she had been gotten up in such a rush if she was still the first one out.

"Well, well, well Kara." Inuyasha said as the two girls jogged over, "Looks like having a charge to take care of has improved your promptness. You're early." Kara rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not always late Inu." She complained making Inuyasha chuckle.

"Well obviously not always." He said, "Just 99 percent of the time." Kara playfully punched him in the arm. Inuyasha feigned being in a great amount of pain, while the other three guys looked amused at the antics of the two. Meanwhile, Kagome yawned loudly from her tiredness, drawing the attention of the other.

"What?" She whined upon noticing their stares, "Kara got me up at the crack of dawn! I'm not used to that!"

"Hmph! You better get used to it." Kara insisted, "Plus, I did it for your benefit. Last one here doesn't get breakfast."

"Well then," yelled a voice from across the yard, "I'm glad I made it!" Everyone looked over to see Ayame running towards them.

"Ayame!" Kagome called out happily as the girl joined the rest of them, "Good morning!" Ayame stretched her body and rolled out her neck before answering.

"I don't really think you can call it morning yet." She said dryly, "The sun is still struggling out of bed."

"Yeah, no fucking kidding!" Rin called as she shuffled over, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The strange thing was that she was alone.

"Rin, where's Sango?" Miroku asked, "I thought you two roomed together."

"We do." Rin told him through a yawn, "She said she had to use the bathroom or something."

"Ha!" Kara interjected, "Hope it was worth it!"

"Worth what?" Sango asked as she ran to join everyone, completely unaware of the consequences of her seemingly innocent decision.

An hour later, all four girls were doing their first run of training. The weather was decidedly warm and getting warmer, so they had all stripped down to the sports bras and short shorts that they had been given. It was all the guys could do not to stare as they ran beside them. Kagome and Rin were officially dying after about two miles. Ayame was faring a little better due to her athletic background. Sango, though, was completely unaffected and was still complaining bitterly about not getting breakfast.

"Less whining, more running!" Kara shouted from over her shoulder at her. She was leading the girls on their run. It was her job to do so as their trainer. It was difficult for her to reign in the pace to accommodate the four, but this wasn't her first time training pups.

Kara called break a half an hour later. By this time, Kagome, Rin, and Ayame were all exhausted. The instant break was called, they collapsed into the arms of their handlers. Much to Miroku's disappointment, however, Sango was completely fine and had barely broken a sweat. She and Miroku walked calmly over to where water had been set out for them while the other three handlers essentially had to drag their charges.

"Please tell me we're done." Rin begged Sesshomaru between sips of water. He grimaced.

"Not even close." He told her bluntly. Rin groaned loudly.

"Calm down." Kara called out, "You've got easy stuff coming up next." Inuyasha gave her a confused look.

"What's coming up next?" He asked, doubting that Kara had an easy bone in her body.

"Ab work obviously." She said calmly. Inuyasha's face paled, which wasn't lost on Kagome. She nudged him to draw his attention.

"What does she mean by ab work?" She whispered into his ear. Inuyasha turned to face her, his look of apprehension still present.

"The worst workout you'll ever do." He warned, "Kara created this workout herself and it's hard even for a veteran." Kagome's eyes widened.

"And she's giving it to us?" She asked incredulously. Inuyasha nodded.

"I guess Kara is really taking the mandate to train you guys hard very seriously." He told her, "Though I never expected this." Kagome grimaced. If this workout had Inuyasha scared, then what would it do to her? She was seriously starting to doubt her decision to follow through with this. That is, until she remembered exactly why she was here. She was here to train to kill one of the most evil men alive. She was here to make sure her father was avenged. That gave her all the motivation that she needed to keep training. It still didn't help how exhausted she felt, however. No one ever said revenge was easy.

A few hours later, Inuyasha was essentially carrying Kagome back into her room. She was exhausted and pretty much dead to the world. All four of the girls were like that, even Sango. Kara had really put them through the ringer. After the run, the ab workout had everyone in pain. Not even the handlers were spared. Then they were running again. It was only about three miles in distance, but it was obvious how unused to it the girls were. Frankly, Inuyasha was surprised that they didn't die. After the second run, Kara had the girls run some standard Pack drills. They were complex, but they taught coordination to be instinctual. Inuyasha knew from experience how critical that was. When running across rooftops in the dark while being shot at, you did kinda need to know exactly where your feet were hitting without having to look. Then, after the drills, more running. It was all pretty standard for training, but Inuyasha had never seen it so intense, especially on the first day.

Inuyasha had place Kagome on her bed for her. The girl simply didn't have the strength to do it on her own. She also needed a shower badly, but that was something Inuyasha couldn't help with, no matter how much he wanted to. He just hoped that Kagome would recover enough to get one herself in the time that she had as a break before lunch and classes started. However, with only an hour and a half between now and then, Inuyasha doubted it. That didn't mean that he couldn't try to encourage the girl to try though.

"Hey Kagome." He said, trying to get her attention in her exhausted daze.

"What?" She groaned. Inuyasha had to stifle laughter. He knew exactly how she felt and it was hilarious to him that it was her in this position and not him.

"You're gonna need a shower." He told her, "You're sweaty as hell." Kagome groaned again, louder this time.

"I can't move." She complained. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Well you can't exactly show up to class like that." He pointed out.

"Fine." She conceded, "Carry me in there." Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? I can't do that!" He said, apprehension clear in his voice.

"I'm not asking you to shower with me." She said, annoyed, "I just can't get up."

"Whatever." Inuyasha told her dismissively, "Just don't expect me to undress you." Kagome laughed weakly at this.

"You wish." She joked. Inuyasha immediately blushed and wished he hadn't said anything. Instead of saying anything as a sort of rebuttal, he just picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, careful not to hit her head onto the doorway.

"Just put me down in the shower." She instructed, "I can get undressed from there. And put a towel outside of it for me. Hopefully I'll be able to move by the time I'm done, but if not you better be around to help me." Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway and did as he was commanded.

"Sure, I'll be waiting. I know that you can't do anything without me." He joked, walking out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him, effectively cutting off Kagome's inevitable witty retort. After a few more moments, he heard the water from the shower turn on. It was quickly followed by a yelp that was a mixture of surprise and pain. Inuyasha laughed to himself. He had warned her about the sensitive temperature knobs. Apparently, she hadn't heeded his warning and had gotten herself scorched.

Around a half an hour later, Inuyasha heard the water shut off. He waited for the call for help from Kagome, but it never came. Instead, he just heard Kagome humming to herself while he sat quietly on her bed. She had recovered quicker than he thought she would. That knowledge, however, didn't prepare him for the sight that met his eyes. Kagome walked out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around her. It barely covered her and what it did cover wasn't covered very well. Her bare long legs made Inuyasha's heart race. The fact that she had a large amount of cleavage showing from her ample breasts didn't help him out any either. Inuyasha's face went red and, as soon as Kagome noticed him staring at her, hers did as well.

"Um... uh..." Inuyasha stammered, looking for something to say as his eyes wandered Kagome's figure, "You look... refreshed..." Kagome's face got redder, if that were possible.

"Um... thanks..." She responded, "I didn't think you'd still be... you know... here."

"Well... um... you did kinda... tell me to stay." He pointed out hesitantly, scratching the back of his head.

"Right. Yeah. I guess I... uh... I did do that." She confirmed, "Well, could you toss me some clothes. I think I'll get dressed in the bathroom."

"Yeah, sure. I gotcha." He said quickly, looking around trying to find the suitcase that he'd brought here the day before. It didn't take long for him to find it and toss Kagome the all black clothing. She thanked him and quickly locked herself back in the bathroom. Inuyasha knew that the image of her so scantily clad and vulnerable would remain etched into the forefront of his memory for a long time. That was something that he was perfectly okay with, however. He just had to make sure that he kept his excitement in check, which he was having a very... hard time doing at the moment.

Kagome walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later. Much to Inuyasha's disappointment, she was fully clothed in her Pack gear, though he had to say that the tight clothing did flatter her figure quite well.

"Do you guys ever wear anything that isn't black?" Kagome complained, obviously trying to move past the earlier awkward moment, "It really isn't my thing."

"Not always. But we do wear it for training and during any night mission." He explained, "Plus, I don't think you look too bad in it. Black suits you just fine in my opinion." Kagome blushed, but turned her face away, so that Inuyasha wouldn't see it. He did, however. It's quite hard to hide something from someone trained to see everything.

"Thanks." She said nervously before changing the subject, "So when do we have to be at lunch?" Inuyasha looked at the clock on the wall.

"Looks like we've got a little less than an hour." He told her, "That should be plenty of time for you to relax." Kagome nodded before searching the other empty half of the room with her eyes. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Where's Kara?" She asked. Inuyasha shrugged.

"Don't know. She said she wasn't coming back the room." He said, "My guess is that she grabbed a shower in one of the communal ones in the compound before getting to work planning out what to do with you guys next. That's what the rest of my squad and I will be meeting with her about while you guys are in your classes." Kagome nodded, taking in the information before sitting next to him on her bed.

"And what do you think she's gonna make us do next?" She asked, curious about what laid in store for her and her friends.

"Well, she's going to take all of our opinions into account. She knows that we have a much better understanding of how you guys are taking the training since we're closer to you and all that. It's also why we do all the training with you." Inuyasha explained, "The only thing I know for sure is that you've got a lot of running coming up. That's a given for everybody. Other than that, I'd say you're probably going to see a lot more drills and maybe even some sparring coming up. I can't imagine her giving you an ab workout harder than the one you did today, but it's always possible. Besides that, expect some upper body work and some crazy flexibility training." Kagome grimaced. All of that sounded incredibly difficult. Even flexibility training sounded hard when Kara was the one leading it. She was the only one that Kagome felt could make stretching an intense workout.

"Great." She sighed, "Who are we going to be sparring with?" Inuyasha smirked. He was looking forward to this part.

"Us of course." He said matter-of-factly, causing Kagome's face to pale, "Pups spar against their handlers. It forces them to train at a level higher than their own and overcome the difficulties that come with that. Don't worry, though. We'll go easy on you. It's not like we're going to be trying to kill you."

"And that just makes me feel SO much better." She said sarcastically, "Just don't break me alright." This made Inuyasha laugh.

"Wouldn't dream of it Kagome." He told her honestly, "Never in a million years."

The time they had before lunch began passed quickly. Inuyasha and Kagome were so wrapped up in their conversation that they barely noticed as the time slipped by. The only reason that they made it on time to the compound's massive cafeteria was because Inuyasha happened to glance at the clock and realize that they had to rush down there immediately. They made it, however, just on time and joined the others at a large round table after getting their food.

"Hey look who's here!" Koga jeered from his seat next to Ayame, "Thought that maybe you guys had found something better to do."

"Something much better." Miroku added, winking at the two. Inuyasha glared at him while Kagome simply blushed and took one of the two adjacent empty seats. It just so happened to be beside Kara, though the main reason she took it was because the other empty seat next to her was beside Miroku. She was going to let Inuyasha take that one.

"Fuck off Miroku." Inuyasha said eventually, taking the seat next him and Kagome. Miroku smirked.

"Oh I would gladly, but it seems you beat me to it." He jabbed. This drew snickers from around the table, even from the four girls that weren't Kagome. Inuyasha, though, punched him hard in the arm. Kagome could tell that it would have been very painful to any normal person, but Miroku barely seemed to notice. It didn't take long for the guys to move past this opening bout of violence and get to a different conversation. All Kagome knew was that it had something to do with sports. Beyond that, she was totally lost and consigned herself to eating the sandwich in front of her. However, before she could, she felt someone nudge her side. Kagome looked over and saw Kara's familiar smiling face.

"So what did take you two so long?" She questioned, making Kagome blush lightly.

"C'mon Kagome tell us!" Rin insisted.

"We can tell it's something interesting." Ayame pointed out. Kagome put her hand up to quiet the interrogation.

"It really wasn't." She told them, "We were just talking about... stuff."

"Well what kind of stuff?" Sango asked. Kagome shrugged.

"I don't know. We talked about where we were from, family, stuff like that." She told them. Kara narrowed her eyes.

"Inuyasha never talks about his family." She said, "Ever."

"Ok, well, I guess that's true." Kagome admitted, "I did kinda do most of the talking."

"Well then why are you so shy about telling us?" Ayame asked, confused. Kagome didn't answer, but blushed instead.

"I think that's your answer." Sango said, pointing at her pink face. The other three girls nodded in understanding, but didn't say anything more because the guys, though thoroughly distracted, were right there. Instead, they tried to join their conversation, but quickly realized that they knew nothing about basketball. Well, everyone except for Sango, who seemed to know just as much, if not more, than the guys at the table.

Around six hours later, Kara was sitting alone with Inuyasha in a conference room in the compound. The other three handlers had left to prepare for the next day and the girls were still in class. Kara had asked him to stay so that she could talk to him, but was actually trying to avoid it for as long as possible by going over some of the notes she had taken during the meeting. Inuyasha, however, wasn't going to stand for that.

"Alright Kara." He said suddenly, "I know you didn't tell me to stay here so that I could watch you read. What did you want to talk about?" Kara sighed and put down the papers that she had in her hand.

"I think you know." She said simply. Kara knew he did. She could always tell when he knew something. Hell, she could always tell everything about him from a glance and she knew that he could do the same with her. The problem was that he was too stubborn to admit anything, "But I'll say it anyway. It's about Kagome." Inuyasha sighed. He knew his inevitable fate was upon him and that meant that he had to talk about this.

"What about her?" He asked in a defeated voice.

"Why are you doing this with her?" Kara questioned.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, making a futile effort to feign innocence. Kara wasn't buying it, though.

"Goddammit Inuyasha! You know what the hell I'm talking about!" Kara snapped, "You're making the girl fall in love with you!" Inuyasha froze. Kara was staring him down, though her eyes didn't match her voice. She wasn't angry. That made Inuyasha even more confused and hindered his response even more.

"I... I... I'm not... trying to." He stammered, "Hell, I even showed her Pack Law. I showed her how bad I fucked up before. That was supposed to end everything!" Kara shook her head. Her big brother still had a lot to learn.

"All you did was show her that you're damaged. Now she wants to be the girl that fixes you, the one that completes you." Kara explained, "It doesn't help that you don't want her to stop either. She's exactly what you want."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded defensively.

"You can't separate yourself from her! You want to be with her!" Kara yelled.

"And so what if I do!" Inuyasha snapped, "It's not like it could ever fucking happen! I swore that I wouldn't ever be with anyone again! You know better than anyone why I did that! Hell, it's why Pack Law bans it!"

"Fuck Pack Law!" Kara yelled back with a ferocity that took Inuyasha off guard, "And fuck your stupid oath! You need her!"

"Kara..." He said softly, trying to collect himself, "What are you talking about? I thought you were against this."

"No I'm not against this!" Kara said, emotion straining her voice, "You're the only family I have left and I want you to be happy. That girl makes you happy, happier than I've ever seen you since that day. You've only known her for a short time, but she's already fixing what Kikyo did to you. She's repairing all of your broken pieces." Inuyasha stared at the girl that he saw as his little sister. She was on the verge of tears. Her sadness was killing him because he knew that he was the cause of it. He knew that she was like this because of him.

"Kara..." He breathed, not knowing what to say.

"Don't 'Kara' me dammit!" She yelled at him, letting a tear roll down her face, "Just promise me that you won't push her away. Let her in! I know that's what you want and I know that's what you need." Inuyasha walked forward and took Kara into his embrace. She buried her face into his chest and let the tears soak his shirt.

"Kara, you know I can't." He whispered into her ear, "You know that I can't make that promise."

"And why not?" She demanded, her voice muffled by Inuyasha's chest.

"Because I don't deserve to be fixed." He told her, "I don't deserve her." Kara looked up at his. Her tear stained face was confused.

"How can you say that? You're one of the most deserving people I know. If anyone deserves to be made whole again, it's you." Kara insisted, thinking of how he took her under his wing, fought beside her, and essentially raised her since she was a little kid.

"But I'm not. Can't you see that?" He pleaded, "Those men died because of me. Logan, Price, and Jackson. They were our officers, our friends, and Kikyo murdered all of them in cold blood because I was too blind to realize who she really was. It's my fault that they're dead." Kara was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She had no idea that he was still punishing himself for the deaths of those three officers.

"No." Kara said firmly, finally finding her words, "No, that wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for that. Kikyo had us all fooled." Inuyasha shook his head.

"But I was closest to her. I thought I knew everything about her. So much so that I was going to marry her!" He insisted, "How could I not have seen her true self in the years that she was with us? No, the blood of those three officers is on my hands. Kikyo should have killed me with that bullet that day, but she didn't. Now the only reason I live is to make sure those officers are avenged and she dies. Then... then I'll let myself die. It's what I deserve."

"NO!" Kara screamed at him, tightening her grip around him as though her own life depended on it. She wouldn't let him do that. She couldn't let him do that, "Never say that again! Ever! I can't lose you! You're all I have. You can't leave me!"

"But Kara you have the Pack." He said softly into her ear, "You don't need someone that isn't worth the air they breathe." Kara didn't respond. Her mind was too distraught to allow her mouth to form words. After a few more moments, Inuyasha let his arms drop from around Kara's body and he walked to the door.

"So that's it huh?" She called after him as he reached for the door knob. The desperation in her voice made him freeze, "You're gonna leave me too? Just like everyone else in my life. Just like me parents and just like Kikyo, you don't care about me." Inuyasha's blood ran cold. Her comparison to those people cut deep.

"Kara," He began without turning to face her, "You're the only person I care about anymore. You mean everything to me and I don't deserve that luxury and you don't deserve that burden."

"But what if I want it?!" Kara yelled at him, "I don't care what you say about yourself or what punishment you think you deserve. In my eyes, you're innocent, so if you die, then you might as well kill me too! I don't want to live in a world that doesn't have the one person that ever gave a damn about me!"

"Kara... I..." Inuyasha stammered. He had no idea that she felt that way. There was no way that he was going to let her kill herself over him.

"Let Kagome make you see that none of it was your fault. Let her repair your heart. Just let her make you happy again. Please. If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me." Kara begged, tears streaming down her face yet again. Inuyasha was frozen. He couldn't say yes because he didn't think deserved to live. At the same time, though, he couldn't say no. Kara didn't deserve to die; she deserved more than anyone to be happy. Instead, he stayed silent and slammed his fist into the door in front of him. The force of the impact was so great that even Inuyasha's calloused knuckles began to bleed slightly.

"Dammit." He cursed under his breath. Inuyasha allowed his vision to blur as he stared at the dark wood of the door, lost deep in thought.

"Please." Kara whimpered in the background. It was so quiet that it barely registered in his ears. He looked at the blood running from his knuckles. The sight brought back memories of a different injury, memories of a bullet through his chest. It would have only taken less than an inch to make that shot fatal. That had to count for something.

"Fine." He sighed eventually, taking Kara off guard, "If my suffering alleviates yours, I'll bear it so long as you need." Kara stared at him. She was holding off his deathwish... for now. What he needed now was healing. There was only one person that could give him that.

"What about Kagome?" She asked him, "Will you let yourself be with her? Will you allow yourself the thing you need?" Inuyasha didn't answer immediately, but continued to stare at the door in front of him. Then he smiled.

"Do I really have a choice?" He mused, making Kara furrow her brow in confusion.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She demanded. Inuyasha turned around to face her and smiled weakly.

"Talk to my little sister." He said, "She'll kill me if I don't." Kara smiled back at him and even allowed herself to laugh a bit. He still had a glimmer of his old self.

"Damn right she will." She said with a smirk. Inuyasha nodded and turned back to the door and paused before opening it.

"What a day huh?" He commented. Kara chuckled.

"With us, every day is what a day." She told him. Inuyasha laughed weakly and walked out of the room without another word.

**Told ya I screwed around with everyone's emotions. It's all I could think of... I promise it's better than the boring in depth description of their training that I had originally. Read that and immediately scrapped it. So yeah... next chapter will hopefully have better content. Plus, if any of you were waiting for this, some looks into the flowering romances of all of the other girls. And some Inuxkag fluff just for good measure :)**


	11. Questions and Bullets

**Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry about how long this took. I was so preoccupied with struggling through writing A New Act's most recent chapter that I couldn't get to this one. But when I did, everything just kinda flowed. So, that being said, here is the new chapter. Tried to include a little bit of everything for everybody. Plus, there's little bits of backstory and hints about some crazy stuff that's gonna happen later sprinkled all over the chapter. Gotta love it. Anyway...**

**Onwards!**

Chapter 11: Questions and Bullets: The Perfect Recipe for Honesty and... Something Else...

Kagome laid in bed and stared through the darkness up at the ceiling. Even though she couldn't exactly see it, she could picture exactly what it looked like. She had stared at it enough over the past few days that she had memorized every slight imperfection of it's white painted surface. Sleep was what she was supposed to be doing at the moment since it was well past one o'clock in the morning, but she couldn't enter that elusive realm even though she was exhausted. The worst part was that she knew why she couldn't sleep. Her insomnia had its origins with a certain blond haired assassin with deep blue eyes. She simply couldn't get him out of her mind. Whenever she tried to fall asleep, thoughts concerning him would come out of nowhere and keep her up. Even when she did finally fall asleep, her dreams were about him as well. The reason behind this was simple. Inuyasha had been acting very strangely as of late, especially towards her. He was oddly quiet, yet seemed to be close to her all the time and almost hanging off of her every word. At first, it had been flattering, but now it was concerning her. She liked the attention, but it was different from how he had acted at any other point during their relationship. Plus, his expression always seemed somewhat... pained. It was also obvious that Kara knew something, but at the same time, it was obvious that she wouldn't talk either.

On the surface, it appeared as though Inuyasha's actions were driven by some sort of attraction. That's at least what Kagome's gut told her. However, her mind reasoned that it was something completely different. That part of her said that his actions were simply how handlers were supposed to act. They were supposed to gather as much information as possible about their charges and report it back. Logically, that would explain everything. These two sides were very confusing and posed a huge problem for another part of her. Her heart didn't know which side to go with and thus made her very indecisive about what to do with the situation. That part of her wanted to believe her gut, but knew that Pack Law specifically forbade it. The only thing she really knew was that the last person Inuyasha had loved was Kikyo. Her name alone was enough to make Kagome sick to her stomach, so she decided to push down all the feelings she had relating to her out of her mind. All-in-all, it was extremely frustrating and kept her from getting precious sleep.

Kagome sighed and rolled over onto her side to look at Kara's bed. Of course, Kara wasn't in that bed. She had left soon after coming in from the meeting that she always had with handlers while Kagome and the girls were in class and before Kagome left to go to weapons training. Kagome knew she wouldn't be back for at least another hour. It had been like that since the second night she had been there, which was almost a week ago. Kagome had no idea where she went, but had the feeling that it had something to do with her and Inuyasha. That feeling came from the eager glances that the girl threw them whenever the two were together and the worried expression that arose when she saw that Inuyasha was constantly silent.

All of this worried Kagome. Yet, at the same time, it was a little exciting. It was sort of like her own little mystery to figure out. The only problem was that the consequences of solving the mystery could hurt her and the people around her. However, Kagome decided to ignore that and resolved to stop thinking altogether for the night. With that decision made, Kagome soon found herself asleep and dreaming about blond children in no time.

Meanwhile, Kara was on a run. She'd always enjoyed night runs and did them often after she finished laying out what the pups would be doing the next day, which would always take until about eleven o'clock at night, when the pups were all headed to bed. However, nowadays they were for a different purpose. The past few nights, they had served as a way to meet privately with Inuyasha. That's exactly what this one was doing now. Inuyasha had agreed to come with her in order to be able to talk about his little predicament with a certain raven-haired beauty that was currently struggling to fall asleep because she didn't know the content of the private meetings, which weren't going well. Kara had known that Inuyasha would need a bit of a push to go through with anything, but she had never imagined that it would be this hard.

"Dammit Inuyasha!" Kara cursed, "Just fucking talk to her! Is it really that hard? She's already in love with you! And I sure as hell know that you feel the same way about her!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I've gathered that much from the past few nights we've talked." He said sarcastically.

"But you haven't done anything." Kara pointed out, irritated, "You just train her and hang around her, even when you don't need to, without saying a damn thing, which is probably confusing the hell out of her."

"And what am I supposed to say?" Inuyasha demanded, snapping, "I don't think, 'Hey, my last girlfriend shot me and killed a bunch of people, you seem like a pretty good replacement.' would work very well." Kara nodded and scratched her head in thought. She hadn't really thought about that. Normally they didn't get past the 'Just fucking talk to her' part. Now Kara really had to think about how best to approach the situation.

"Well, start by asking her questions about herself." Kara suggested, "Get to know her and stuff like that." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"I already know everything about her. It's part of my job." He pointed out, annoyed. Kara shook her head.

"Deeper than that. Don't just find out facts, find out how she feels about stuff. Us girls like that sort of shit. Plus, it'll let you understand her better." She explained.

"Okay..." Inuyasha said, accepting the information for what it was, "What then?"

"Ummm..." Kara said hesitantly, realizing how sorely under experienced she was in things like this. She may have been a seventeen year old girl, but Pack life didn't exactly encourage learning this kind of thing, "I guess you would just tell her how you feel." Inuyasha sighed.

"Well that's easier said than done, but alright." He admitted, "What about Pack Law? This is about as blatant as an infraction as it gets. I'm not worried about me, it's her I'm worried about. Command doesn't go easy on lawbreaking pups." Kara nodded. She'd done a little investigating to figure out how to answer this.

"Look, everyone around here wants you two together. They know you're perfect together and want you to move on from the past as much as I do. So none of the agents will give you away. Arihiro probably won't give a shit. He loves you and appears to be quite fond of Kagome too, otherwise she wouldn't be slated for a squad leader before any of those girls have even finished training. As for anybody else, they probably won't find out or do anything if they do. I don't think you realize how much this law gets broken and then unpunished. People don't really see it as legitimate." She explained. Inuyasha was silent for a moment. The only sound was the sound of their breathing and the sound of their feet hitting the dirt trail that they were running on outside the compound.

"I guess I actually have to do this now don't I?" He said after a moment, making Kara smile. She'd finally won.

"Yeah, you do." Kara agreed, "And you'd better do it soon. If you haven't noticed, Kagome hasn't been sleeping well. My guess is that it's because of this." Inuyasha nodded.

"I've noticed." He admitted, instantly feeling bad and kicking himself, "But she's still progressing very quickly. She's putting forth a lot of effort." Kara chuckled.

"She is indeed." She agreed, "She's not a bad shot either. You're teaching her well Mr. Guns Expert." Inuyasha smiled.

"I'm really good at training girls to shoot people aren't I?" He joked, making Kara laugh.

"Yeah, maybe this one will actually get the shot right eh? Can't have your targets getting away on you." She jabbed, making Inuyasha roll his eyes.

"You suck Kara." He said dryly. Kara smiled back with her signature warm smile.

"But you love me anyway don't you?" She joked. Inuyasha didn't respond, but instead chose to pick up the pace of their run. By a lot.

"Hey!" Kara called after him, "We're still ten miles out! What is this?" She could hear him laugh from his position that was getting ever farther in front of her.

"Race you back to the compound!" He called back, mocking her antics from when they first landed in America a week ago.

"Dammit Inuyasha!" She yelled, immediately picking up her own pace to desperately try to catch up. Of course, a race against a runner that was scary close to a world record in the mile was doomed to failure.

The next morning, Kara woke Kagome up as usual, with a lot of screaming and more than a few curses. Needless to say, Kagome was out of bed and in the shower within seconds. She was even out of the shower five minutes after that. It didn't take long for the two girls to gather their things together and head down to the courtyard. They were, as they always were, the first girls down to the courtyard. In fact, the only thing abnormal was the fact that Inuyasha was not with the other guys and wasn't in the massive courtyard at all. Miroku caught her confused look and took it upon himself to answer.

"He's setting up a target range outside the compound. We'll be running there as soon as he gets back." He explained.

"How far out is it?" Kagome asked out of curiosity. She was actually beginning to enjoy this whole running thing. Miroku smiled knowingly.

"Only about five miles from the compound." He told her.

"Oh, that doesn't sound too bad. Normally we have to do a lot more." She said happily. However, Miroku, Koga, and Kara all began to laugh. Even Sesshomaru cracked an amused smile.

"What?" Kagome asked, curious as to what was so funny.

"You'll be carrying all of your gear." Sesshomaru said plainly. Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion.

"So? We carry gear all the time when we run." She pointed out.

"He means all of your gear." Koga corrected quickly, "You normally carry your pistols and a knife. That's nothing compared to what we have to carry on some missions. To get you used to it, this time, you'll be lugging a sniper rifle, your pistols, ammunition, multiple different knives, and a pack that's weighted down to simulate other supplies." Koga purposefully left out that there were several missions where the amount of gear each person carried surpassed two hundred pounds. The pups didn't need to know that yet.

"In all," Kara continued, making sure that no one let that detail slip, "You'll have more than fifty pounds on your back today." Kagome's face paled, even though she didn't know how much worse it could be, that wasn't news that she wanted to hear.

"Oh..." She said lamely, making the other handlers laugh.

"Don't worry." Miroku told her, "You'll be fine." Kagome nodded, but was unconvinced and was still that way after her friends and Inuyasha showed up. The task in front of her seemed impossible. At least she could be grateful to get breakfast. Ayame, however, was not so lucky that day.

After breakfast, all of them were directed to the armory. They already had their pistols since they were obligated to carry them everywhere, but now were handed a Dragunov sniper rifle, several magazines worth of the heavy ammunition it fired, a set of fifteen throwing knives of different sizes that she already knew that they weren't going to use, and a pack to carry it all in that was also filled with a twenty pound weight. Overall, it was a very awkward, heavy load and very difficult to carry, though the veterans did it with ease.

Everyone left the armory and started out towards the range fairly quickly. That is, everyone except for Kagome and Inuyasha, who was obligated to stay with her during training. Kagome was having more than a difficult time of figuring out how to shoulder the rifle comfortably while still being able to run.

"Dammit." She cursed bitterly to herself, "Dumb rifle." Inuyasha chuckled.

"You want some help there Kagome?" He asked mockingly. She shot him a defiant, stubborn look in return.

"I've got it." She insisted, her tone more bitter than she had intended, "Back off alright." Inuyasha's brow furrowed in confusion while his face took on a pained expression. Her voice hurting more than he had thought it would.

"What's with the malice? Did I do something?" He asked, concerned about this change in her reaction to him. Kagome laughed weakly to herself.

"No." She told him flatly, "No you didn't. But maybe that's the fucking problem." With that, she gave up trying to find a good position for the gun and decided just to head out towards the range. However, a hand gripping her arm stopped her just before she reached the door.

"Kagome." He said, his voice serious, "Talk to me. What's wrong?" Kagome rolled her eyes and turned to face him.

"It's not like you'll talk back. You probably don't even like listening to me, but do it anyway because it's your job and you have to." She accused, "I probably remind you too much of Kikyo don't I?" Inuyasha immediately grimaced. Kara definitely hadn't been wrong.

"Oh fuck..." He cursed at himself, "Kagome you're nothing like her."

"Well I already know that I look like her, so what you're saying is that I'm not as good as her." She bit out, "That's why you can't talk to me." Inuyasha ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He had no idea where she had come up with this.

"Where the fuck did you get that idea?" Inuyasha demanded, "It makes no sense."

"It's the only thing that fucking makes sense!" Kagome snapped. In all honesty, she was just letting words flow straight from her emotions without letting her brain filter them, so she didn't really know if what she was saying was logical or not. However, she didn't really care at this point either, "Why else would you just completely avoid saying anything to me and look like you're in pain when I talk? The only thing that is logical is that my looks remind you of her betrayal, but the rest of me isn't as good as the part of her that you fell in love with and it makes you hate me!" Inuyasha stared directly into Kagome's eyes. The serious look etched onto his face gave him an aura that instantly made Kagome stop her rant.

"Kagome." He began quietly, "I told you never to compare yourself to her. Ever. And I meant it. You are better than her in every way."

"Then why won't you talk to me?" She demanded, the pain she had been feeling surfacing and straining her voice, "Explain that." Inuyasha wanted to avert his gaze, but couldn't dislodge his eyes from her own.

"Because I don't deserve anything good. Not anymore." He said quietly, "I haven't for a long time." Now it was Kagome's turn to be confused.

"What are you saying?" She asked, not able to comprehend what the man in front of her was saying.

"For the past two years, I've had blood on my hands because of Kikyo. I promised Kara that I would try to move on. She told me that I had to forgive myself and allow myself to be happy, but, as you can see, it hasn't been going very well so far." Inuyasha explained, hoping that Kagome would understand what he was saying. Her eyes widening in realization didn't disappoint him one bit.

"So... You're really trying to move on?" Kagome began cautiously, trying to make sure she understood. Inuyasha nodded, affirming her statement, "And you're trying to be happy... with me?"

"Yeah pretty much." He admitted to be met with Kagome lifting her hand up, signalling him to let her finish.

"But you can't allow yourself to do it because of something some bitch did two years ago." She continued, emphasizing the ridiculousness of the situation in her opinion, "And that's why you look like you're in pain all the time. Not because of me, but because of Kikyo."

"If you want to put it that way, yeah I guess that's about it." Inuyasha conceded. Kagome took a deep breath in order to compose herself.

"Damn... I should have trusted my gut..." She muttered to herself, drawing a curious look from Inuyasha which she ignored, "We're talking, like actually talking together, about this later, but right now we have to get to the range." Kagome gave him a warm smile to show that she understood... for now.

"Well I guess I'll take what I can get." Inuyasha joked, "Now come on. I'm teaching this lesson and Kara will kill me if I'm too late, even if I was with you." Kagome rolled her eyes, but followed him out the door anyway.

Kara looked at her watch for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the past five minutes. Inuyasha and Kagome still hadn't shown up. It made her sort of glad that the two of them were finally talking, or at least that Inuyasha could possibly be talking to her for once, but that didn't stop her inner need for everything to run on schedule from flaring up and becoming annoyed. The fact that Inuyasha was teaching this lesson since he was arguably the best shot in the Pack didn't help matters either. It meant that she couldn't start without him.

She sighed to herself and turned away from the forest path that the two of them were supposed to be coming down and, instead, turned to examine the other groups. The girls seemed to be perfectly paired with their handlers, making Kara wonder if Arihiro had done it on purpose. He'd always been one of the most sentimental people in the Pack. If the stories were to be believed, he'd even been that way during his years in active duty. With those and her own experiences with the man in mind, she could easily see him purposefully setting up romances within Pack members. He'd always been against the addition of Law 54, though he'd toned down his outcry against it in the past year. Now it appeared that he was trying to undermine the law covertly. It wasn't a bad strategy either. If necessary members of the Pack all fell in love with other members, then the other commanders might be persuaded to void the law. The only problem was that it would take an act of heaven to convince some of the commanders that decided the law, so Kara was doubtful. Her only solace was that at least not many people cared about enforcing the new law. That meant she could watch the romances bloom without much of a worry.

"Hey Sesshomaru." Rin called while she adjusted the long range scope on the Dragunov as her handler had shown her.

"Yes Rin." He responded emotionlessly, as usual.

"You said that you and Inuyasha are brothers, right?" She asked, just to be sure she had her facts correct. Sesshomaru nodded his affirmation.

"Half-brother, yes." He corrected.

"Right." Rin said, moving on, "So how did you two end up with the Pack? Something tells me that it wasn't like how we did." Sesshomaru chuckled lightly.

"Indeed, Inuyasha and I were not recruited into the Pack as most people are. We were essentially bred into the Pack." He told her cryptically.

"Okay... What the hell does that mean?" Rin followed up. Sesshomaru sighed, obviously not keen on talking, but bearing it for the girl.

"We were picked up off the street by Commander Arihiro. Our father was murdered the night Inuyasha was born. No one really knows why, or at least no one has ever told us. Hell, neither of us even know what he looked like. His mother removed all the pictures of him from the house. She never said why. We'll never know because she died seven years later. Shortly after that, we found ourselves on the street as orphans. Commander Arihiro found us a year later and took us in." He explained, "Not sure why. It didn't exactly earn him any friends at the time. The rest of the commanders were vehemently against the idea." Rin nodded, taking in the information. It was the most she had learned about her handler since meeting him. He was like a big mystery put in front of her for her to solve. It was quite enticing, actually, and she looked forward to prying more out of him.

"I see. Well I'm glad Arihiro did pick you guys up." She said cheerily, "And I'm sorry about your parents. I never met either of mine either. My family adopted me when I was very young. I guess that's sort of like what happened with you and Inuyasha." Sesshomaru smiled. He was beginning to like this girl. She had been through the same type of struggle that he had, but was still strong. That said something about a person. It didn't matter that the Pack had arranged her adoption by a Pack member since her biological parents had also been members and had died while on a dangerous mission. She didn't know that and it definitely hadn't made the experience any easier on her.

"Yeah." He said simply, " I guess it is."

"OW! Shit!" Ayame cursed as her finger got pinched by the bolt of the Dragunov. Koga's head snapped over to the redheaded girl. He felt a sudden, strange need to see what was wrong and check on her well being.

"You alright?" He said, moving over from his own rifle to examine the problem. He noticed Ayame sucking on her index finger with a pained expression.

"Fucking rifle attacked me!" She complained, still sucking on her finger. Koga chuckled at her phrasing.

"Well, it's inanimate, so I don't think it can attack you." He pointed out sarcastically. Ayame rolled her eyes.

"All I'm saying is the thing is dangerous." She insisted.

"Well obviously. It's a sniper rifle." He said, pointing out the obvious, "Now let me see your finger." Ayame immediately blushed, but took her finger out of her mouth so that Koga could examine it. He took her right hand in his own and looked over the red and slightly swollen finger. A smile crossed his face.

"It didn't break the skin, but it might sting a little to pull the trigger." He told her, "Just be a little more careful next time alright. Guns are indeed dangerous." Ayame rolled her eyes again, trying her best to ignore the blush still gracing her cheeks.

"Yeah, I got that much." She said, turning back to the rifle in front her and successfully managing to cock back the bolt without injuring herself, "But as you can see, I'll be alright."

"Good." Koga said, chuckling, "Can't have those cute hands of yours getting scarred up now can we?" Ayame's blush deepened and her heart fluttered as she tried her best to ignore the comment. She was completely unsuccessful.

_SMACK_

"Dammit Miroku!" Sango yelled out as a red handprint appeared on the guilty man's face, "Keep your fucking hands to yourself." Miroku shrugged nonchalantly, appearing completely unfazed by the slap that would have sent most guys sprawling out onto the ground. This did little to assuage Sango's anger and irritation.

"What can I say?" He said dismissively, "The hand is cursed." Sango gritted her teeth and pulled the knife from her side and twirled it in fingers.

"Well maybe I should exorcise it from your body at the edge of a blade." She threatened. This got a reaction, though, not the one Sango expected. He smirked, clearly amused.

"Clever and violent. I like, though it's unnecessary, dear Sango." He told her smoothly, "You'll see the curse as a blessing soon enough." Sango snorted.

"I doubt that." She said flatly, sheathing the knife and returning to fixing her scope as they had been taught in the classes. If she was being honest with herself, his attention was flattering and not something she was wholly unused to. It was just highly degrading since it was in front of others and she wasn't in a relationship with Miroku. Now if those two conditions were met, she might not react so violently. She quickly shook the thoughts from her mind. It didn't matter how handsome Miroku was. Pack Law forbade relationships. Plus, he was a pig. Definitely not her type. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself in order to make her rapidly pounding heart calm down.

"Well it's about damn time!" Kara called out, drawing the attention of everyone away from their conversations towards the path that Kara was looking at. Inuyasha and Kagome came into view a second later, "You two took your sweet time getting here."

"You were right." Kagome whispered into Inuyasha's ear, "She did get pissed."

"Well she might as well be my sister." Inuyasha pointed out, "She's really anal about this type of thing." Kara shot them a look.

"I heard that." She said, irritated. Inuyasha chuckled.

"You were meant to." He called back to her, "Now let's get this show on the road."

"Please, it's not like you're the one that was holding us up or anything." Kara retorted, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and led Kagome to their section of the range, which was on the far right next to Miroku and Sango.

Kagome quickly got her rifle set up. Inuyasha had explained how to do it speedily in great detail during their run over. She got it done with such ease that even Kara was impressed. Hers was set up almost as fast as Inuyasha's.

Once they were both done, Inuyasha got up, leaving his rifle propped up on a bipod, and walked out in front of everyone. He cleared his throat, drawing their attention and making them turn away from the range and towards himself.

"Alright, as I'm sure you can tell, today's lesson will be on sniping." Inuyasha began, "Stereotypically, this is an assassin's bread and butter. Well, I'm here to tell you that is incorrect. Sniping is messy and draws way too much attention, even if you make the shot from miles away. Normally, we do our best to use alternate, cleaner methods for taking our targets. Sniping will almost always be a last resort. However, in our line of work, last resorts need to get used a lot. Because of that, you need to be masters of this skill. Now, that being said, you all already have a decent base to start from. Sniping isn't all that different from shooting normal assault rifles, which you girls have been doing all week after your classes. It's just a hell of a lot more complicated and gets exponentially harder as the distance increases. Easy enough right? Good. Now let's get started." Inuyasha, his introduction done, walked back to his portion of the range and took hold of his rifle.

"Very motivating." Kagome muttered to him sarcastically.

"Glad you thought so." He said, throwing her sarcasm right back.

"Anytime." She sighed, making Inuyasha roll his eyes.

"Alright, look down the scope and keep your finger off the trigger." He instructed everyone, "You never want to fire off a shot by accident. Now, the first target it 500 meters down range. Call out when you've got in the crosshairs." One by one, the girls confirmed that they saw the target. The handlers didn't bother. Inuyasha already knew that, if they wanted to, each of them could have taken out all of the targets by now.

"Good." He called out as Ayame gave the last confirmation, "Now, in movies, the headshot is glorified. The only problem with that is that the head is a very small target. A mark could move only slightly and then you've given away your position and blown your last resort without taking out the target. That's why we aim for the heart in the exact center of the chest. If the target moves, then the bullet will at least hit a lung or some other vital organ that will end in a fatality. It makes for a more certain kill. Don't worry about body armor. Most of our targets won't be wearing that. If they are, you'll probably have a gun that can shred armor like it's paper. So, with that out of the way, aim for the exact center of the target's chest." In unison, each person aimed down the scope and moved it so that the crosshairs intersected right over where the heart would be on the human shaped sheet of steel.

"Alright, the next part is just like the rest of your rifle training. Take a deep breath and, as you exhale, take the shot." Inuyasha instructed before performing the action himself. The other handlers quickly followed. Then Kagome, Sango, Ayame, and Rin took the shot. There were eight distinct pings as the bullets slammed into the steel and sent it to the ground. That meant that nobody missed, much to Inuyasha and Kara's surprise.

The targets slowly returned to their upright positions with a distinct mark where the bullet had hit. There wasn't a hole because the steel was thick enough to deflect the bullet, but it was clear that each person was right on target. If the steel had been flesh, it would be safe to say that the flesh would no longer be living.

"Nice shot." Inuyasha muttered to Kagome.

"Thanks." She said, giggling.

"Alright." Inuyasha called out, "You've got nine more rounds in your current magazine. I want you to use up those bullets practicing on this same target. Once everyone is done, we'll move on to a longer distance." Not two seconds after Inuyasha finished speaking, he was firing down range, only stopping to wait for the target to right itself. The other handlers were not far behind. Each of the girls took a little longer. Not all of them were used to the recoil of the gun and had to re-aim each time. However, it wasn't long before they were done too. Kagome was the first finish, followed by Ayame, Rin, and Sango in quick succession. All of the shots fired were on target, which was extremely uncommon.

"That wasn't too hard." Kagome commented to her handler, making him smirk.

"Just wait..." He hinted, before returning to instructing, "The next target is at 1000 meters. Adjust your scope accordingly and then we'll continue." Inuyasha, of course, had already finished by the time he had finished saying what to do. The girls soon called out completion of the task allowing Inuyasha to continue.

"Now, as you can see, these scopes don't come with a Bullet Drop Compensation feature, they can only adjust magnification, so you'll have to figure out how much the bullet will drop using the tick marks on the crosshairs and your own knowledge of the type of round you're using. You'll learn the later. For right now, the first tick should be good enough for this shot, though it won't be perfect. We're in the forest, so wind won't be a factor, though we'll drill that into you as well in about a week or so." Inuyasha explained, slowly taking aim using his own instincts instead of the markings to direct his shot, "When you're ready, go ahead and empty the magazine in the same fashion as last time." Shots quickly began to ring out through the forest. Most were followed by a ping, though this time was not met with perfection. Rin and Sango missed two, Ayame missed one, and two of Kagome's were too low and would not have been fatal shots. That was still impressive for their first time. The handlers quickly explained the mistakes the girls had made and how to fix them. They hastily made the proper adjustments, reloaded, and went for another go. This time was, astonishingly, met with perfection. The girls were good.

The lesson lasted for another two hours before Inuyasha finally declared it done. They had steadily increased the distance and used up every single round that they had left the armory with. Their accuracy was incredible. Needless to say, the handlers were thoroughly impressed. No pup had started out this well since Kikyo and she had had previous training. The only explanation was that they really had inherited their parents skills of assassination. Each of them came from elite lines of Pack members. All of them were respected for their prowess and now, it seemed, so would their children.

After shouldering their supplies, minus the used ammunition, the eight pairs and Kara all started the run back to the compound. They may have been good with rifles, but that didn't mean that they got out of physical training. Kara had more than a few killer workouts laying in store for them upon their arrival back.

Classes ended right on time at eight o'clock. Normally, they would then go out and practice shooting and learn about other skills that they would need as assassins, but Kara gave them the time off. She didn't say why, but, then again, no one asked. They weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Kagome trudged back to her room alone. Kara had said that she would be in later since she had some things to take care. Kagome was perfectly fine with that. It meant that she could have the shower for as long as she needed. And oh did she need it.

Kagome arrived at the stairs to the second level of the compound that were just outside of her room. It took all of her might for her to use her sore muscles to ascend the now menacing concrete steps. The sight that met her eyes immediately threw out her earlier ideas of grabbing a long shower while Kara was out. Of course, it also explained why she didn't come back with her. She probably knew exactly what Kagome was looking at.

"Well you look tired." Inuyasha commented dryly, making Kagome roll her eyes.

"Yeah, thanks blondie." She said sarcastically, "Nice to see you too." Inuyasha smirked.

"Hey you wanted to talk, so here I am." He reminded her. Kagome's eyes widened in realization. She had almost forgotten Inuyasha's promise to talk to her. In all honesty, if he hadn't been standing outside her door, she probably would have fallen asleep without a thought about it. His remembrance immediately erased her annoyance at his less than kind greeting.

"Well I'm glad you're here." Kagome said truthfully, "Now come on. Let's do this in my room. I don't want people getting any ideas." Inuyasha chuckled.

"Yeah, because me following you into your dorm while Kara is out won't draw any attention at all. And it definitely won't cause questions." Inuyasha pointed out, sarcasm thick. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Wrong choice of words." She admitted, "I just meant that I want to talk privately, alright?" Inuyasha smiled.

"Yeah, I gotcha. Lead the way." Inuyasha said, motioning to the locked door, which Kagome promptly unlocked and entered. Inuyasha followed and closed it behind him. Kagome sat down on her own bed, while Inuyasha laid back onto Kara's, clearly waiting for her to start speaking. Obviously it was time for her to start asking questions. It was now or never, so she might as well do her best to get to know the man that she was hopelessly falling in love with.

"So..." Kagome began hesitantly, "What happened to your parents?" Inuyasha's face paled. He'd almost rather talk about Kikyo. At least he knew something about that.

"Nobody really knows." He admitted painfully, "My father was murdered the night I was born. His body was so mangled that it was almost impossible to identify him. Nobody ever found his killer. My mother died when I was seven. I'm not really sure how she died. She just died. No one ever told us the cause. Honestly, she just looked like she was asleep. Asleep except for the fact that she wasn't breathing and didn't have a heartbeat. After that, no orphanage would take Sesshomaru and me, let alone any foster family. One orphanage we went to said we were "blacklisted" or something. We didn't know what that meant at the time. Even now, I'm not sure what exactly they meant by that. It's crazy to think orphans could be blacklisted. Anyway, we ended up on the streets of Tokyo. Not exactly the most fun place to be for two kids that weren't even ten years old. We were lucky that we didn't starve. It's likely that we would have, or at least frozen to death, if Arihiro hadn't picked us up that November. From there, he forced us into Pack life. We took it gladly over being on the street. At least with the Pack we had food. During our years here, we've tried to find out what really happened to our parents, but every time we've come up blank. Hell, all records of them are pretty much gone. Unless you know exactly where to look, they might as well have never existed." Kagome couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't imagine living through what they had. It seemed insane.

"Do you know what your parents were like?" She asked, curious. Inuyasha shook his head.

"All I remember about my mother is how kind she she was. That and how she would cry whenever we mentioned our father." He told her, "As for my old man, I don't even know what he looked like. I never saw any pictures of him. All I know is his name."

"What were they?" Kagome asked, her curiosity getting the best of her, "Your mom's and your dad's names?" Inuyasha took a deep breath. He hadn't said their names in years. In all honesty, he didn't want to. They brought up too many uncomfortable emotions. But he did promise Kagome that he would talk.

"My mother," He began slowly, "Her name was Izayoi. My dad's name was Inu no Taisho. He didn't really have a last name, or at least, I was never told it, so I took my mother's." Kagome nodded, taking in the information, though, not fully understanding it.

"So how did Arihiro find you guys?" She asked, moving on to another part of the story that didn't really make sense. Inuyasha shrugged.

"Don't know." He admitted, "We weren't exactly in a good part of town, so he obviously had to go pretty well out of his way. Plus, there were several other kids around that didn't really have homes because they'd been kicked out of orphanages for one reason or another, so why he chose to pick up the two weird, dishevelled blond kids sitting in an alley, I'll never know." Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Have you ever asked him?" She questioned. Inuyasha shot her a look making the answer obvious.

"Of course. And on more than one occasion too. He's just always started laughing and said 'Luck, my boy, luck.'" He told her. Kagome laughed weakly. That did sound like Commander Arihiro. That's when another question occurred to her.

"Hey Inuyasha, you are Japanese right?" She asked, making sure her next question wasn't going to have an obvious answer. He furrowed his brow, obviously not understanding the new line of questions.

"Yeah." He answered hesitantly, "Why?"

"Well, you and Sesshomaru have blond hair. That's not exactly... normal for people of Japanese descent." She pointed out, running her hand through her own raven-black hair to emphasize her point, "So I was just wondering why you have it." Inuyasha nodded, now grasping her point and why she was curious.

"Don't know that either." He admitted, "My mother had black hair, so since Sesshomaru has it too and he's my half-brother, I would have to guess that my father had blond hair, or at least someone in his family." Kagome paused for a moment taking in everything that she had learned and doing her best to process it all.

"Hey Inuyasha?" She said suddenly, leaning back against the wall.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"Thanks for talking with me." She said, smiling warmly at him, "It's nice to know a little more about you."

"Well I promised that I'd talk to you didn't I?" Inuyasha pointed, "Plus, Kara would have killed me if I didn't." Kagome chuckled. She could easily see that happening. Kara was one to get angry when things didn't go the right way. Kagome thought back to the talk that she had with Inuyasha in the armory. As she went through it in her head, another question stuck out to her immediately. She kicked herself for not remembering sooner.

"Hey." She called out, leaning forward in anticipation of the answer, "You remember this morning in the armory?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was getting at.

"Yeah..." He said, "What about it?" Kagome blushed, instantly wishing she hadn't started this. But she couldn't back out now.

"Well, remember how you said that you were trying to be happy again?" Kagome began, receiving a nod from Inuyasha, "And that I... you know... made you happy..." Inuyasha froze. That hadn't been something he had been expecting, though he immediately realized that he should have. Unfortunately, he didn't have an easy answer for the question that went along with the statement she had just made.

"What did you mean by that?" She asked hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. The blush flaring up on Inuyasha's face did little to assuage her fears.

"Well... um..." He stuttered before taking a deep breath to steady his speech, "I haven't really been able to enjoy life since what Kikyo did. In all honesty, I put all the blame for everything that happened on myself. Because of that, for that past almost two years, my only purpose was to kill Kikyo. After that, I probably would have followed her in death. Thing is, you've made me enjoy life again. I've actually been happy in the time that we've been together. Well Kara noticed that little fact and made me act on it, especially when I told her what my plans were. So, I guess you're my reason for living now. Otherwise, I'd have a deathwish, just like I have since the day that Kikyo betrayed the Pack." Kagome was speechless. Words weren't coming to her. Hell, she couldn't think at all. She couldn't make sense of anything that had just been said to her. It was hard enough for her to understand that she made Inuyasha happy. The fact that he had a death wish because of something that someone else did and that she was the only thing that kept him from carrying that wish out was mind boggling. The only thing that she could make sense of was an overwhelming sadness that Inuyasha had wanted to end his own life and intense anger and hatred towards Kikyo for causing that desire in him. Tears flooded her eyes as she flung herself across the room and buried her face into Inuyasha's chest.

"K-Kagome?" Inuyasha said, surprise and confusion evident in his voice.

"How could you ever want to kill yourself?" Kagome pleaded, her voice frantic, "Never ever say that again! Ever! Whatever that bitch did has nothing to do with you!" Inuyasha did not respond immediately. Instead, he wrapped his arms around his reason for living and buried his face into her hair, breathing in her scent. He chuckled lightly.

"So everybody keeps telling me." He joked, "If people keep saying that, I might actually start to believe it."

Kagome dislodged her face from Inuyasha's chest and looked up into his eyes. His smile was warm, but pain still filled his eyes, pain that she had to get rid of. Kagome's brain shut off. The only thoughts that filled her were of how to make his pain go away. Suddenly, without thinking and moving completely off of her own feelings, Kagome's head shot up to meet Inuyasha's where her lips crashed into his. Inuyasha was too surprised at first to respond, but as Kagome's salty tears met their joined lips, Inuyasha returned her kiss and pulled her tighter against himself. Time stopped for the two of them as all thought processes ceased. The only things that existed were the two of them. Nothing else mattered. That is, until they ran out air and had to break away from each other.

Kagome gazed into Inuyasha's eyes. The pain that had occupied them had subsided. It had been replace by happiness and something else. Something that Kagome couldn't really place, but that distinctly resembled love. A smile broke out across Kagome's face as she buried her face into Inuyasha's neck. She had made his pain go away, if only for a moment.

"Well, I guess we're lawbreakers now." Inuyasha commented, laughing lightly to himself. Kagome laughed along with him as she rolled off of him to lay on Kara's bed and snuggle herself against Inuyasha's side.

"Yeah I guess so." She agreed, "But I think it's worth it." Inuyasha turned his head to look her in the eyes.

"I couldn't agree more." He said as his lips met hers yet again.

**Told ya that I tried to include a little bit of everything. Even tried to take a look at the blossoming romances of our other friends. I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, good or bad, and see if any of you guys have any questions about anything that I wrote or that you don't understand. And yes, Inuyasha's parents will be important later. Hell, anything I mention about the past in this story is likely important. SO much interconnected backstory plot lines! GAAAHHH! Anyway, hope you guys liked it. Be sure to tell me what you think.**


	12. Who Woulda Thought?

**Hey! I'm not dead! Yay! Sorry I couldn't post anything before I left for a week, but I made this chapter encompass a lot so that no one would kill me... Hope it doesn't suck! Love you guys!**

**Now onward!**

Chapter 12: Who Woulda Thought?

Kagome crashed down to the ground after the punch connected with her lower jaw. She rolled to lessen the impact, but it still hurt. A lot. Hell, every bit of her was in pain. She couldn't take the beating she was getting. The punches and kicks were just too much. They came too fast for her to dodge and too hard for her to block. She was really just considering staying down this time and accepting her fate. There was no way that she could win. She was outclassed in every way. That's when she thought about what was at stake. An image of a handsome blond haired assassin flashed through her mind. It was just enough to spur her to action.

Kagome struggled to get up. It was painful and she knew that more than a few bruises were going to show up the next day. But first she had to get there first. Kagome raised her fists up to a sloppy fighting stance. The girl across from her smirked and entered her own, unbroken stance. She didn't have a scratch on her, unlike Kagome.

"Haven't given up yet?" The girl asked, tossing her blond hair out of her eyes. Kagome narrowed her eyes in anger.

"Never." She told her before quickly leading with a left jab. Her punch was easily blocked and, before she could do anything, her feet were wiped out from beneath her. Kagome, yet again, crashed to the ground. All Kagome could make out of the girl that stood over her was her long blond hair. The rest of her was shaded due to the light above her.

Suddenly, the girl started to laugh. It was warm and friendly, a welcome change of pace. So much so, in fact, that it was a bit disconcerting for Kagome. The girl knelt down beside Kagome and offered her a hand.

"C'mon, I think that's enough." She said, "You're down." Kagome chuckled weakly.

"Thanks Kara." She responded weakly, taking Kara's offered hand. Slowly, with Kara's help, she struggled back to her feet and then walked to the edge of the mat. She lifted the rope that marked the boundary and ducked under it to enter Inuyasha's awaiting arms.

"Hey, you did great out there." He told her warmly. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right." She shot back, "I didn't get a hit in. Kara wiped the floor with me." Inuyasha laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked to a nearby bench to sit down for a rest.

"So?" Inuyasha said dismissively, "This is only your second time sparring. Plus, Kara is a master fighter. One of the best girls we've got. The only one better that I've ever seen was Kikyo. In other words, I think it's amazing that you lasted longer than five minutes in there. It means that you're at least good at ducking and dodging, which is really important." Kagome sighed. She was happy that Inuyasha was doing his best to comfort her and was actually quite encouraged by it, but that still didn't help her mood.

"It's just, we've been training for three weeks now and so far, I don't feel like I've learned enough." Kagome complained, "I mean, I'm fitter than I've ever been, I can shoot better than any normal person I know, I'm stealthy as hell, and I'm decent with a knife, but there's still so much that I have to learn and not much time to learn it in." Inuyasha laughed heartily at her complaints. They were quite amusing. Kagome gave him a look and Inuyasha quickly stopped his laughter and help up his hands in apology.

"I'm sorry for laughing." He said, still fighting the urge, "But you just don't know what I know. You girls are learning faster than any pups the Pack has ever trained. I've sent a lot of people to this facility and it always takes them about 2 to 3 months, not weeks, to learn what you guys have. Plus, you're a better shot than half the people that actually work here, you could sneak past an army on high alert, and you're more than decent with a knife. It's quite impressive." Kagome chuckled weakly. This wasn't the first time that Inuyasha had told her this, but something about this time made it actually sink in. Maybe it was the fact that she was too beaten up to actually put up a fight.

"Thanks Inuyasha." She said quietly, leaning into him and looking back over to the mat where Sango now sparred with Kara. Even she wasn't having any better luck than Kagome had and she was an MMA fighter. It made Kagome laugh. Kara really was a master of everything. It didn't matter what it was.

"Anytime Kagome." He promised, pulling her closer, "Anytime."

"SHIT!" Sango yelled out across the battlefield as shots tore through the air all around them. She and Kagome, who was beside her, began to sprint for the cover of the trees, praying that they wouldn't get hit. Fortunately enough for them, they made it.

"Dammit." Kagome cursed in between hard breaths, "Why did they have to drop it in the middle of a fucking field?" Sango shrugged. She had been wondering the exact same thing. It was impossible to get to the objective stealthily, especially given the time limit that they had to comply to.

"Where do you think the shots are coming from?" Sango asked, peeking out from behind the tree that she was currently using for cover.

"No idea." Kagome admitted, "Didn't get a look. All we know is that they were coming from somewhere in front of us." Sango nodded and looked at her watch.

"We've got ten minutes to reach the objective. Then we've got another ten to safely escort it back to the rendezvous." She informed her partner, "Think we can do it?" Kagome sighed and shrugged.

"Don't know. But," She said, raising the pistol she held in her hands, "We're damn sure gonna try." Sango smiled and nodded.

"Sounds good to me." She agreed.

"Alright then. Break forward on three and try not to get hit." Kagome said, preparing herself to sprint and carry out her obviously well thought out plan, "3... 2... 1!" As the sound left her mouth, both girls broke cover and rushed forward. Shots immediately began to whizz by them as they ran, but thankfully none were making contact with anything but trees and the leaf covered ground.

In less than a few seconds, Kagome identified one of their attackers in the tree ahead of them. She took both hands on the pistol and lifted it to point at the gunner. She squeezed of four shots in quick succession before having to dive to the left for more cover as another source of fire began to rain down on her. Sango saw her dive and immediately took cover herself.

"Did I get one?" Kagome called out. Sango risked a peek since all fire was concentrated on her partner at the moment.

"They're aren't any in the tree and I didn't see them on the ground." She told her, "But I have no idea if they're down or not." Kagome cursed under her breath. She'd rather the shooter still be up and running than not know one way or the other. But alas, that was their fate. Their job was never easy.

"Hey Sango!" She yelled in order to get the girl's attention. It worked and she quickly turned her head to see what was up. Kagome, in order to make sure their plan stayed secret, used hand motions to tell her that she was going to make a break forward for the objective, but would also need cover fire if she was going to make it. Sango nodded her understanding and lifted up three fingers to count her off. Slowly, Sango lowered each finger.

As soon as the last finger dropped, Kagome sprinted out from cover and into the field while Sango kept up a steady stream of fire on the general area of where their attackers that were trying to stop them had been. Kagome quickly caught sight of their objective, a steel briefcase with unknown contents. She slid to the ground by it, making herself as low as possible. Quickly, she got hold of the case in her left hand and steadied her pistol in her right. That done, she popped back up and sprinted straight back for the cover of the trees.

Kagome took position behind her tree again just as Sango reloaded for the second time. She cocked back the pistol and looked over to see Kagome with the case. Kagome smiled at her and then pointed back the way they had come and towards the awaiting jeep. There was no special plan this time. They were just gonna make a break for it. Sango nodded and let Kagome know that she understood and both girls prepared themselves and their already tired legs for the long sprint ahead of them.

With one last deep breath, Kagome nodded. Both girls immediately broke cover and began to make the mad dash through the woods to the vehicle that was hidden away for them to escape in. They ignored the small scratches they got as they ran and just kept moving. There would be time to deal with wounds later, but now was not that time.

About a minute later, the two girls broke from the trees onto a small path. The jeep was parked right where they had left it. They turned right and immediately began to run towards it, barely holding in cheers of victory.

"Haha!" Sango sango called out as they neared the jeep, "We did it!"

"Damn right we did!" Kagome yelled back.

Suddenly a person armed with a pistol popped up from behind the jeep, making Kagome gasp. She was clad in black and was pointing the gun right at them. It was the one that Kagome had thought she shot.

"Not quite." The gunner said before firing off four shots, two for Kagome and two for Sango.

A hot, stinging pain burned in two points on Kagome's chest. One was right over her heart while the other was over her right lung. Both were fatal areas. Her jaw dropped as she let go of the case, allowing it to hit the ground, as she herself fell to her knees. She stared blankly at the smug looking girl that had just shot her. A silence filled the air.

"DAMMIT!" Kagome screamed, ripping the silence to shreds, "Fucking dammit!" Ayame, who was still behind the jeep with the gun in her hand, immediately began to laugh and cheer loudly.

"Sorry Kagome." She said tauntingly, not apologetic in the least, "But we win this time." Another girl burst forth from the trees with a cheer.

"Hell yeah we do!" Rin yelled, as she ran over to Ayame to celebrate their victory. Kagome rolled her eyes and looked down at the paint that now stained her shirt in two places on the chest. She'd hoped to keep it clean, just like she had every other time.

"Yeah yeah." Sango said dismissively, "Calm the fuck down." Kagome immediately stood up and joined her.

"Yeah, we've won every other time." She pointed out, "This was just a fluke because we got an impossible mission."

"I mean, who drops a briefcase in the middle of a damn field!" Sango cried out in agitation, "It's ridiculous!" Meanwhile, Ayame and Rin couldn't control their laughter.

"You two are just sore losers." Ayame said cockily, "You've gotta learn to take defeat with grace and poise." Rin nodded her wholehearted agreement.

"And you better learn quick." She warned, "You'll be losing a lot more from here on out."

"That's enough girls!" A laughing, yet authoritative female voice called out, "You both did extremely well." The four girls in question turned to face the source of the voice.

"C'mon Kara!" Rin whined, "You gotta admit that our plan was sweet!"

"It was creative, but it was too risky. You should have just taken them out in the field when they went to pick up the case." Kara told them, "After all, this exercise was designed for them to lose and fail to escape with the case." Rin and Ayame immediately deflated from their joyous mood, much to the amusement of Kagome and Sango.

"Told you!" Kagome yelled.

"The mission was impossible!" Sango added. Kara shot them a look that made them immediately quiet down.

"But..." Kara said, drawing out the word, "You two only lost it in the end because you were careless. Even in victory, you can still lose. Never assume that you've won. After seven weeks of training, you girls should know that."

"Dammit Kara." Kagome sighed, "Why do you always have to be right?" Kara immediately started to laugh at this. It took a moment for her to be able to calm down and compose herself enough to answer.

"Because." She said, "I'm amazing. Obviously. Now come on. Get in the jeep and let's head back." All four girls rolled their eyes, but complied. After all, none of them wanted to have to do the fifteen mile run back to the compound.

Kagome was doubled over with her hands on her knees near the edge of the courtyard. She was completely out of breath, which hadn't happened in a while. After twelve weeks of intense training, she was in incredible shape. However, there was something about full tackle ultimate frisbee that was incredibly exhausting. It might have been the fact that they were playing on a football field sized portion of the courtyard and were constantly running up and down it. The handlers said that they were just playing for fun, but Kagome had easily picked up on the real reason. This type of game trained situational awareness and split second decision making. Mainly because you had to know exactly where everyone was when you got the frisbee, so that you could catch it and pass it off without getting tackled to the ground, especially since you couldn't run with the plastic disc.

The teams were pretty much evenly matched. Kagome played on a team with Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku against a team with Rin, Sesshomaru, Ayame, and Koga. They had been playing for the better part of two hours and the score was tied at just 5-5. Now everyone was in serious need of a water break. However, they wouldn't get one until Kara decided that they should get one. Kagome knew from experience that it wouldn't come until Kara finally got bored of doing laps around the massive courtyard, which always took a while.

"Kara!" Inuyasha yelled at the girl as she ran by the playing field yet again, "Are you fucking done yet?" Kara dramatically rolled her eyes, but slowed to a stop.

"Yeah, whatever." She said dismissively, "I'll stop for now."

"Thank god!" Koga exclaimed, throwing the frisbee down onto the ground.

The eight players immediately left the field and approached where their water was. Kagome drank greedily from her water bottle and nearly drained all 32 fluid ounces of the thing at once. It was mid-November, so it wasn't particularly hot, but that still didn't mean that two-hours of intense sports after a ten mile run didn't build up quite the thirst. She heard a chuckle from her right and didn't need to look to see who it was.

"Oh shut up Inuyasha." She said, wiping the excess water from her lips, "I've barely had anything to drink all day." Inuyasha gave her a warm smile.

"I know. I was just thinking about how much you've changed over the time you've been with us." He commented, taking a sip from his own bottle. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. She hated when he was so vague.

"What the hell does that mean?" She demanded.

"When you first started here, you could barely run three miles at a pace barely faster than a walk. Now look at you." He said, beginning to walk away from the field and motioning for her to follow. She did without question, "You can do a ten mile run at a fast pace and still play two hours of one of the most intense games I know of. It's quite impressive." Kagome smirked and chuckled to herself.

"So," She began, "That's it huh? You like how I've changed physically? Well I hope you like what you see." The glint in her eyes was mischievous. Inuyasha wasn't sure whether he liked that or not, but wouldn't deny that it gave her a certain sexiness.

"Oh I am quite the fan of the view." He assured her, mirroring her expression, "But those aren't the only changes." Kagome raised an eyebrow at this.

"Oh really?" She said, drawing out the word, "And what else has changed in me?" Inuyasha gave her a warm smile.

"Well, for one, you're a lot more sure of yourself." He told her, "But you're also a lot stronger mentally. You're not afraid to speak your mind and you can make clever decisions in a split second. Nothing seems to faze you and you radiate confidence." Kagome giggled at the praise and fought back the blush that wanted to spread across her face. She didn't know why, but Inuyasha always made her feel giddy when he complimented her. It might have been the fact that their relationship was strictly forbidden by Pack Law, but Kagome was pretty sure that the real reason was that in the almost four months that they'd been together, she'd fallen madly in love with the man. She'd admitted as much to Kara, who was a huge supporter of the relationship, and had even gotten her to allow them alone time every now and then. Most of the time, they just used them to talk, but sometimes they could get a little... heated.

"You like?" She asked, moving a little closer to him and lacing her fingers with his own. Inuyasha gave her hand a squeeze as its own form of assurance.

"I like." He said, winking. Kagome's heart sped up at the gesture and her eyes quickly scanned the area. The flutter in her stomach and the sudden increase in heat in certain parts of her anatomy told her that she needed to be alone with the man at that moment.

It only took a few seconds for her eyes to come upon the door to a storage closet. Making use of the quick decision making skills that she had just been praised for, she dragged Inuyasha to the door. Kagome knew that the decision was being driven by the lustful thoughts rushing through her head and the heat growing between her legs, but at the moment, she didn't care. All she wanted was to be with the man that was currently holding her hand and had a very cute confused look etched on his face.

Kagome, much to her satisfaction, found the door unlocked and the storage closet large and mostly empty. She quickly yanked Inuyasha inside and shut the door behind them. The light was motion triggered and came on upon their entrance. Thankfully, it was soft and low instead of harsh and bright. Kagome took advantage of Inuyasha's lingering confusion and used it to force him up against a wall and stand up on her toes to crash her lips onto his. Inuyasha's confusion quickly melted into acceptance and then to eagerness as he melted into the kiss. He took a firm grip on her ass and lifted her up off of the ground so the she wouldn't have to be on her toes to reach him. Kagome responded by wrapping her legs tightly around his waist and moaning softly into the kiss as Inuyasha pushed his tongue into her mouth to wage war against her own.

It didn't take long for Kagome to untangle her hands from Inuyasha's hair and make their way to the hem of his shirt. They moved underneath the cloth and began to roam the firm muscle underneath. Feeling Inuyasha's rock hard abs and equally impressive chest was enough to turn the growing heat between her legs into a raging fire that she couldn't wait to quench. That flame wasn't dampened as she felt another substantial muscle begin to harden and press against her leg where it was tightly wound around him. All that kept her from it now was the damned invention called clothing. However, Kagome knew a way to quickly remedy the problem posed by said invention.

Only breaking the kiss for a mere second, Kagome wrenched the still sweaty shirt off of Inuyasha's torso and tossed it carelessly onto the ground. Suddenly, Inuyasha began to move across the room and Kagome found herself being set onto a clear shelf. Inuyasha then took advantage of his newly freed hands to return the favor done to him and helped Kagome remove her own pesky shirt. The two didn't waste any more time. Kagome pulled Inuyasha back into her embrace and wrapped her legs around his waist once again. Inuyasha used his free hands to explore Kagome's newly freed body. He was pleased to discover the firmness of her own abs, but quickly left them to explore farther north.

Inuyasha groaned into Kagome's mouth as his fingers came into contact with the infernal barrier of the contraption called a bra. Kagome picked up on his lament and immediately brought her hands to undo the the clothing and let it fall to the ground. Inuyasha didn't waste any time in allowing his hands to make the journey up to explore the newly opened mountains. His squeezed lightly while his thumbs gently massaged her hardened nipples. Kagome let out a moan of pleasure as Inuyasha's hands did their work.

Not one to not reciprocate pleasure, Kagome brought her hands to Inuyasha's chest and then traveled slowly southward. Her fingers eventually found to the waistband of his pants and slipped under them as well as underneath the underwear he was wearing. The delicate fingers quickly found Inuyasha's hardened, lengthy member and took a firm hold of it.

As soon as Kagome's hand applied pressure to his shaft, Inuyasha nearly jumped in surprise and stepped back from the half-naked raven-haired beauty in front of him who still had a firm hold of his manhood. Kagome could see the look of confusion, concern, worry, and something akin to fear appear on his face. This, needless to say, concerned her greatly. She couldn't stop the blush the flared up strong on her face.

"Did I..." She began hesitantly, "Did I do something... wrong?" Inuyasha shook his head. That really didn't help Kagome's confusion.

"No... No you didn't do anything wrong." He told her, clearly not knowing what else to say, but searching for the proper words.

"Well what then?" She demanded, "Why did you stop?" Inuyasha winced as her grip hardened. Kagome didn't notice this slight reaction and obviously had forgotten that she had an iron grip on his member.

"I... I... Well..." He stammered.

"Spit it out!" Kagome yelled, not liking his hesitation one bit. Inuyasha sighed, but didn't continue. Kagome narrowed her eyes at the man, "Is this about Kikyo?" Inuyasha grimaced immediately and Kagome knew that she had hit the nail on the head. However, she didn't let her pride in this or in how well she knew the man stop her rant, "Why the fuck are you thinking about that bitch right now?"

"I'm not." He said plainly, making Kagome scowl.

"Don't lie to me Inuyasha!" She yelled, bringing her face mere inches from his own, "I know you better that that." Inuyasha smirked, an expression that took Kagome completely off guard. She didn't know what to do with that.

"Damn right you do." He told her, "You're not entirely wrong either. But mostly, my thoughts were on you."

"What does is that supposed to mean?" Kagome asked, all malice leaving her voice. At least he was being honest with her this time.

"Well, primarily, I wanted to make sure that you didn't feel forced into any of this." He told her, his expression serious. Kagome rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the assertion, but Inuyasha continued before she could make a retort, "But at the same time, as you know, I don't exactly see myself as... clean. In fact, I see myself as the opposite. You, on the other hand, are the purest person I've ever met. I don't think I could stand it if I was the one to steal even a small piece of that from you." Kagome's jaw dropped as she stared at the man in front of her. All at once she wanted to slap him out of frustration and kiss him because of how considerate he was being. The latter won the short battle.

Kagome pressed her lips against Inuyasha's, taking him completely off guard, and hugged him tightly against herself. She couldn't hold in the small laugh that escaped as she kissed him. The situation was simply too amusing to not laugh at.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" She said, breaking away from him and resting her forehead against his. Inuyasha met her eyes and was surprised to find them quickly change from an amused glimmer to eyes clouded with lust and clear wanton desires. Kagome licked her lips in anticipation, solidifying the look, "Can't you see that you won't be stealing anything? I want to give this to you."

Kagome began to slowly stroke the hardened muscle in her hand, enjoying the feel of it as it rehardened in her palm. Inuyasha noticeably gulped but didn't protest again. She took advantage of her position and got off of the shelf and slowly pushed Inuyasha back to the opposite wall, while continuing to stroke him. As soon as his back hit the wall, Kagome dropped to her knees and took her time to admire the view before her. The monster in her hand had to be at least eight inches long and wide enough to the point where she could barely get her hand around it. Her primal, carnal instincts were crying out to enjoy this right here and now, but she reigned these desires in and licked her lips to prepare for something a little different.

After a few more strokes, Kagome took the head into her mouth and used her tongue to stimulate the sensitive nerves that covered it. Inuyasha's quick intake of breath and soft moan encouraged her to continue. She removed her mouth with a soft popping sound, but quickly returned for more and fit almost half into her mouth while using her hand to take the rest. Slowly, she began to bob back and forth along his shaft with mouth and hand, while using her tongue to please the underside. As she progressed, she continually increased the pace, getting faster and faster.

"Damn." Inuyasha breathed as Kagome did her work, "Where'd you learn this?" Kagome chuckled with his cock still in her mouth before removing it altogether to stroke its entire eight inch length.

"I had some pretty slutty friends back at my old school." She told him as she admired how her ministrations were affecting this seemingly invincible man, "I picked up a few things, though this is the first time I've ever done it."

"Thank god for sluts." Inuyasha muttered to himself, so that Kagome couldn't hear. She wouldn't have heard it anyway.

She was already working on fitting more of his member down her throat. This time she managed close to a good six inches. Again using her hand to pleasure the rest and this time using her other hand to lightly massage his balls, she began to move her head slowly back and forth as she sucked. Kagome let loose light moans as she went to match the ones that were escaping from Inuyasha. They had a dual effect as the vibrations they created added to the pleasure that Inuyasha was experiencing.

Kagome was quite enjoying herself as she went. She was finally getting a chance to pleasure the one that had done so much for her, had given her life purpose, and had given her someone to love and that loved her back. It was fulfilling in more ways than one. As she went, she got braver and braver and eventually tried to take Inuyasha's entire length down her throat. She had to shut her eyes as tears left them, but she did manage to fit the whole thing. Inuyasha reacted just as she thought he would. He fisted his hand in her hair and held her there for a few seconds before allowing her to retreat. Then he used his new control to move her head back and forth at a new pace, which Kagome eagerly sped up.

Suddenly, after another minute or so of Kagome's best work, Inuyasha slammed her face forward into his waist. Kagome wasn't prepared for what happened next. Inuyasha's semen erupted from his cock and shot straight down her throat. He kept coming and coming, while she kept sucking it down as he came.

After what seemed to be a never ending river of cum, the flow slowed to a stop. She swallowed down the results and backed her head to where only his head was in her mouth. Kagome stroked the shaft tightly to make sure that he was completely empty, while using her tongue to slowly lick it clean. Only after making doubly sure that he was completely emptied did she let her mouth leave his cock.

"Holy shit." Inuyasha breathed as he tried to steady himself against the wall. Kagome giggled at his reaction and took pride in her work.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Kagome asked tauntingly, already knowing the answer.

"Fuck yes." He said, running his hand through his hair.

"Good." She said simply as she stood up. She pecked him lightly on the lips before turning away to look for her shirt.  
"Not so fast." Inuyasha said suddenly as his hands grabbed her waist from behind and pulled her into his embrace. He lined her neck with kisses that felt like little bolts of pleasuring lightning. The heat between her legs instantly rekindled into a burning flame.

"Inuyasha..." She breathed as she covered his hands with her own as they slowly rubbed her sides and eventually found her breasts and sensitive nipples.

"My turn." He growled playfully.

Suddenly, he whipped her body around and covered her mouth with his own. Inuyasha used his now dominant position to push her back up onto the shelf that she had occupied before. As she settled down to sit, Inuyasha let his hands leave their place on Kagome's breasts to wander down to the waistband of her shorts. Not wasting any time, he pushed them, along with her underwear down to her ankles. Kagome kicked them to the floor as Inuyasha's lips left her mouth and began to travel down her body. They made a stop at each breast to pleasure them with a mixture of masterful use of tongue and suction. Kagome's mews of pleasure only served to encourage him as he worked.

Inuyasha took his time with Kagome's breasts, but eventually left for better things further south. He kissed his way down her stomach and took a detour left to kiss down her inner thigh. Kagome moaned from the teasing and tried to use her leg to push him to the final destination. Inuyasha wasn't going to have any of that yet. He moved over to her right thigh to give it the same attention. It was obvious that Kagome was soaking wet and awaiting his eager tongue, but Inuyasha was going to make her wait.

He kissed his way back up to her navel and began his work there. What he wasn't expecting, though, was for Kagome to fist her hand in his hair and begin to try to force him down to her fiery, wet core. Inuyasha chuckled, but consented to letting himself be directed. It was obvious that she was good and ready.

Inuyasha flicked out his tongue and barely made contact with her sopping wet lips, but it was enough to draw a loud moan and an arch in her back. Kagome used her hand once again to push him down to start his real work and stop teasing her. Inuyasha gladly complied. His tongue entered her folds and began to move in toe curling patterns and was rewarded by having his head taken into the vice grip of Kagome's thighs. He actually thought his head might get crushed in between the long, smooth, and sexy sources of muscle. Kagome's moans were now constant and Inuyasha was proud to hear his name alongside consistent begging leave her mouth. Inuyasha listened to her begging and moved to her awaiting clit. He took the sensitive bundle of nerves and began to suck and lick it like a pro. Kagome's moans turned into screams of pleasure as her back arched high into the air. Inuyasha was suddenly exceedingly glad that the compound was built with all soundproof material. Otherwise, they certainly would have been caught. At this point, though, Kagome was too far gone to give a shit whether anyone heard or not. She was having the ride of her life.

Suddenly, the burning fire in her core boiled over and the coil that had been tightening in her stomach snapped. Her orgasm washed over her like a raging tsunami of pleasure. Inuyasha and his masterful tongue were there to help her ride out the waves for as long as possible. Meanwhile, she came hard and fast and Inuyasha was there to make sure that she was not left dirty. He lapped the results as she had done for him and stayed there continuing his ministrations until Kagome's screams regressed back into soft moans.

Inuyasha then kissed his way back up to Kagome's mouth and covered it with his own. Kagome could taste her own essence on Inuyasha's tongue, but at this moment, she couldn't care less. All that mattered was the man in her arms. She pushed him over and she followed him onto the floor. They landed tangled in each others' arms, interspersing giggles with kisses as they rolled along the hard floor. Eventually, Inuyasha stopped and laid on the floor while Kagome's naked form straddled his waist.

"Now where did you learn to do that?" She asked, giggling and turning his own question against him. Inuyasha shrugged from the floor.

"Kinda went by instinct." He admitted, "That and the fact that you reacted very... obviously whenever I did something good. Thought my head was going to explode while in between your legs." A light blush graced Kagome's cheeks.

"Sorry about that." She apologized sheepishly making Inuyasha chuckle.

"Hey don't apologize." He insisted, "I thought it was sexy as hell." Kagome laughed and smirked at him.

"I'm sure you did." She said, leaning down and kissing him lightly before dismounting his waist, "Now come on. I think half time is probably almost over." Inuyasha's eyes widened as he remembered his other obligations besides the naked woman in front of him.

"Shit!" He cursed, as he got up and they both frantically searched for their hastily removed clothing.

Late that night, at around one in the morning, Inuyasha was still in the gym. He'd done his workout routine at least three times already, but he'd honestly lost count. There wasn't any real legitimate reason that he was still there. Well, other than the fact that he really didn't want to have to go back to his room and have to face Miroku. Unfortunately enough for him, Miroku was the only one that seemed to have noticed anything unusual about Inuyasha and Kagome disappearing together for longer than they really should have. Most seemed to dismiss it as unimportant or none of their business, but Miroku, being the pervert he was, obviously would not let it go. He would pry until he got every detail and Inuyasha was going to avoid that for as long as possible. If that meant not going to sleep until the very early morning, then he would do it.

As Inuyasha finished up another long bout against the weathered punching bag, he heard the door to the room open. He didn't pay it much mind. Pack members often turned to physical exercise when they couldn't sleep, which was more often than most would admit. After all, they were killers for a living. It was a habit carved into them from training. However, what he wasn't expecting was the owner of the body that entered.

"I figured you would be in here little brother." Came the cold voice. Inuyasha delivered one last right hook into the bag before turning to find Sesshomaru staring at him from across the well lit room.

"Hmph. Well hello to you too Sessh." Inuyasha said dryly, using his hand to push his sweaty hair out of his eyes, "What has you out of bed at this hour? If I remember correctly, you're a big fan of your beauty sleep." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at his half-brother, but otherwise ignored the comment.

"I came at the behest of Rin." He told him plainly. Inuyasha's eyebrow immediately shot up in surprise.

"Oh really? The great Sesshomaru is being ordered around by a pup now?" He taunted, receiving no reaction from his older brother.

"She voiced a concern that I saw as legitimate." He stated coldly. Inuyasha rolled his eyes in impatience.

"Alright... What the hell does that have to do with me?" He demanded.

"Rin saw you and your charge yesterday. She thought you two were acting strangely. Miroku affirmed this, but refused to elaborate when I visited him at your room before coming here." Sesshomaru explained. Inuyasha gulped. If even innocent little Rin picked up on something, then it was likely that everyone had. Only the ice prince that was his half-brother could miss it. That wasn't good news. At least he could keep it from one person.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about Sessh." Inuyasha insisted, "Kagome just wanted to take a walk so that her legs wouldn't get tight in between halves of the game." Well that wasn't exactly a lie...

Suddenly, the door to the gym slammed open and Kara marched through. She stopped for a second upon seeing Sesshomaru, but quickly decided to ignore him and turned her attention back to Inuyasha.

"What the fuck did you do Inuyasha?" She demanded, her voice almost painfully loud, even in the large room.

"Dammit!" Inuyasha cursed loudly, "Why is everyone accusing me of shit? I didn't do anything! You're not even being specific Kara!" Kara rolled her eyes.

"You know what the hell I'm talking about Inu! Don't play dumb with me!" She yelled, "Why is Kagome talking about you with dreamy eyes and acting like a tiny freshman that just made out with the captain of the football team behind the bleachers?!" Inuyasha did a double take at her words. She was doing what?

"I don't fucking know!" He yelled back, "You're the one that said she was in love with me! Maybe this is just that." Kara narrowed her eyes and growled at him, obviously not accepting his answer. Then her eyes snapped open wide in realization.

"Oh Inuyasha please tell me that you didn't fuck her!" Kara pleaded, "Please oh please tell me that you didn't!" Inuyasha's face paled.

"Well... no..." He stammered before hardening his voice, "No! I didn't fuck her! Well... Not exactly..."

"What does that mean?" Kara growled out, low and threatening, "What. The. Fuck. Did. You. DO!"

"Look, I told her not to," Inuyasha justifies, "but she insisted and it just kinda happened. I-"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU FUCKING DO!" Kara roared, cutting off whatever other excuse Inuyasha was about to make.

"Third base dammit!" Inuyasha yelled back, "You happy? Fuck!"

"Oh." Kara said, suddenly switching into her cheery voice and flashing her signature warm smile. Then she turned around and almost skipped back to the door, which she proceeded to open and lean out of, "Miroku! Third!" She called out.

Within a split second, Miroku was in the room and patting him on the back giving him congratulations alongside Kara, while a very confused Sesshomaru and Inuyasha stared at each other and the situation unfolding before them. Apparently no one was mad.

"Umm..." Inuyasha began hesitantly, "What the fuck is going on?" Kara immediately smiled up at him.

"Well, when you and Kagome disappeared, Miroku saw Kagome push you into a storage closet. Then he told me about it and I made sure that everyone that had overheard would keep their mouths shut. We kept Sesshomaru out of the loop, so that he would actually participate when we got Rin to ask him to get our plan rolling." Kara explained, "Hell, it was all we could do not to burst into laughter when you two walked out with sex hair and ruffled clothes. Not to mention the fact that Kagome still looked a little dazed. Nice work on that by the way." Inuyasha's jaw dropped, while Sesshomaru stuck up his nose to the whole matter and walked indignantly out of the gym.

"Fuck me." Inuyasha breathed in frustration.

"Hey!" Miroku interjected, "That's Kagome's job!" Inuyasha groaned loudly, while Kara fell on her ass in laughter.

"Does she even know about this?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Oh yeah." Kara said from the floor, "I pried it out of her first. She spilled a lot easier than you. Only took me asking her directly. Plus, she was a lot more... forthcoming with specific details. Don't be offended though. She was kinda just really excited to talk about the "best time of her life" or something like that. You really rocked her world Inu. Just want you to know that." Inuyasha sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He really couldn't hide anything from these people.

"Dammit." Inuyasha sighed, "So you guys aren't mad?" Miroku immediately began to laugh and Kara's was redoubled.

"Of course not!" Miroku said, slapping him on the back, "That would be against everything I believe in. And Kara's glad to see her brother finally getting some." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and walked away towards the door.

"Whatever." He said dismissively, "I'm going to bed." With that, he pushed through the gym door and stormed off towards his room.

Miroku turned to Kara and took on a haughty, victorious stance.

"Ha! I win!" He declared proudly, "That's a hundred bucks for me!" Kara rolled her eyes and sighed before getting up.

"I could have sworn that he was going to punch the hell out of you." She lamented before handing over the money.

"Well I knew that he would never lay a hand on his best friend!" He said, pocketing the money and grinning stupidly at Kara.

"You're right." Kara admitted, mischief in her eyes, "He wouldn't ever lay a finger on me. Who woulda thought?" And with that she skipped out of the gym in Inuyasha's wake, leaving a very stunned Miroku behind.

**Yup... My first lime... Ever... So how'd I do? I was really debating whether or not to include it all, but I figured that I might as well throw some intimacy into their relationship. I'd love to hear everyone's feedback on it, though. Also, I think that training will end in the next chapter or two and then the girls will start their mission. And who knows? We might get a look at what Kikyo has been up to this whole time... Guess you'll have to wait and see!**


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